The Night of the Yesterday's Tomorrow
by Saphura
Summary: Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy must team up with James West and Artemus Gordon in order to save Spock and stop Dr. Loveless. Now in chapter form!
1. Chapter 1

The Night of the Tomorrow's Yesterday

I do not own any of this. Not James Kirk, not James West, not Artemus Gordon, not Leonard McCoy, not Spock… you get the point.

* * *

There were three things that Dr. Leonard McCoy was sure of at the moment. One, he had no clue where they were or how they got there. Two, Spock was missing. And three, he and James Kirk were about to become train robbers.

"I still say this is a bad idea, Jim;" McCoy said, looking at the small train sitting on a rail siding about three hundred feet away. It was a classic steam locomotive, with an engine and two cars. "Just because we haven't seen anyone other than the Engineer doesn't mean there's no one else there. And who ever owns that thing might come back at any time."

"Bones, it's an in and out job. Five minutes max;" Kirk replied. "Besides, we can't just walk into a town looking like this." He motioned to their uniforms. "We'd get shot!"

"We have no proof that we're on Earth!" McCoy said. Kirk pointed to the train. "Other than the train;" McCoy corrected. "You know what, fine. Whatever. But if you get your ass shot up with a colt pistol, don't come crying to me!"

Kirk just grinned. "But you're the doctor, Bones;" he said. "I have to come crying to you. Now come on." Staying low, Kirk and McCoy sprinted towards the train car on the end, avoiding the engine. Jumping up onto the rear platform, Kirk tried the door only to find it locked.

"Do you have a bobby pin?" Kirk asked, but McCoy just glared at him. Rolling his eyes ('_Bones, we need to work on your humor_.'), Kirk pulled out his phaser, shot the lock, and opened the door, not noticing the small string that snapped as the door opened. Their eyes went wide as the door opened to the lush interior of the train car.

"Well, this is unexpected;" McCoy said, looking around. He noticed a small stack of papers, and picked one up. Color instantly drained from his face.

"Jim?"

Kirk turned around from inspecting a small statue. "Ya Bones?"

"I found a newspaper… it's got a date… We're on Earth all right… It's an old _San Francisco Times_."

"When, Bones? What's the date?"

McCoy looked up. "June 14, 1875."

Kirk's eyes went even wider than before. "1875?"

He walked over and grabbed the paper. "So we've been transported through time and space to 19th century Earth;" he said. "But we have no idea how, or why, or where Spock ended up." Kirk looked at McCoy. "You look around; see if you can find us some money, and maybe something to eat. I'll find us a wardrobe."

"Just know that red is not my color;" McCoy called after his young friend, but Kirk just waved him off. Sighing, the Doctor began looking around the train car.

"Wonder who owns this thing;" he mumbled.

W~W~W~W

"James, my boy, next time they tell us to pick up a message and we have the option of taking the train, we take the train!"

"But Artie, it was faster to do it this way."

"I don't care!"

James West just smiled and shook his head. Artemus had a point. After riding for almost eighteen hours, he was ready for a nice, easy, relaxing train ride to San Francisco.

"Fine; we take the train next time;" West said. Artemus Gordon nodded, happy that his partner agreed with him.

"By the way, Jim, where is the train?"

"Right over this hill;" West replied. The horses made their way over the little hill, revealing the waiting train. West frowned.

"We have a problem, Artie;" he said, pointing to a small flag waving above the parlor car.

Gordon nodded; "Intruders."

"Let's circle around the front;" West said, moving his horse. "They might still be in there, and we might have a chance at surprising them."

"Right;" Gordon said, following his friend. They rode back behind the hill, parallel to the train for a minute or two before turning and aiming for the engine. West noticed a man waving at them from the engine car, and gave a sigh of relief. Who ever had broken in hadn't tried to take the train… yet.

"The flag and alarm went off about ten minutes ago;" the Engineer explained. "We never saw anyone come in, didn't hear anything either. But there's someone in the parlor car; Mattson heard them talking."

"And you didn't try to kick them out?" Gordon asked. The Engineer twisted his hat.

"We decided to wait for them to come to us;" he said. "Ambush them, you know? Only they haven't come out yet."

"Well then, let's ambush them;" West said. "Artie, you take the hidden entrance behind the fireplace, I'll take the coupling entrance. Orrin, you take the back entrance. Mattson and Kerry, you two be ready."

Everyone quickly moved into position. West would enter first, and draw the intruders' attention. After that Gordon would use the secret entrance, followed by Orrin. West jumped up onto the ledge, and slowly opened the door. He peered in, but found no one in the hallway; but there were voices coming from the parlor. He slipped in and silently closed the door behind him. Pulling his gun out, West made his way towards the parlor, hoping that the element of surprise would work.

"Bones, none of this stuff fits me!"

"At this point, Jim, I don't think fashion and looks matter. We need to go!"

"Fine, fine, give me a sec." West pushed himself into a door frame as the footsteps grew louder, but the intruder didn't enter the hallway.

"Oh for Pete's sake, Jim, you have to be kidding me!"

"What, I've always wanted one of these!"

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

'_They found a gun_;' West though. He took a deep breath, and burst into the parlor.

"You may want to listen to your friend;" he said. "Because if you don't shoot your eye out, I might."

The young man dropped the gun, and the other one sighed and shook his head. "For the record;" the second man said, putting his hands up. "I want you to know this was _his _idea, and I told him it was a bad one." The first man glared at his friend.

"Shut up, Bones!" he snapped. Suddenly, Gordon popped out from behind the fireplace.

"Now what do we have here?" he said.

"Damn it, damn it! Why me?" the second man groaned. He was wearing one of Gordon's jackets over a blue shirt. A small knapsack was on the floor by his feet where he had dropped it. Gordon could see some more of his clothes stuffed into the bag. The younger man had on one of West's shirts, which was slightly too small for him. The gun he had taken sat on a gold colored shirt. Two seconds later, Orrin burst through the back door, and the blue-shirted man fell onto the couch, shaking his head.

"Seems they needed a change of clothes, Artie;" West replied. "You, join your friend on the couch, if you don't mind. Ah-ah! Don't even think about it boy!" he added as the young man reached for what looked like a gun on his hip, but it wasn't any gun West had ever seen. West grabbed the gun before the man sat down.

"Now then, Jim and Bones, do you have any other names?" West asked.

The young man glared as him. "I'm Ca…" he paused, and tried again. "I'm James T. Kirk. He's Dr. Leonard McCoy."

"Okay then, Ca James T. Kirk;" Gordon said, leaning on the back of the couch. "What were you and the Doc here doing in our train; hm? Other than stealing our clothes."

"That's all we were doing;" Kirk replied. McCoy just nodded his head still in his hands. "Wait, no!" Kirk cried as West dumped the contents of McCoy's knapsack onto the table. Among the clothes was another funny looking gun, a strange looking object, a small box with a flip cover, and a leather case; along with a hundred dollars and some food. West looked at Kirk and McCoy.

"You two realize you are trying to steal from two federal officers, right?" he said. Kirk turned slightly pale, and McCoy started moaning.

"Damn it! I told you, I told you we should never have gone down there!" he yelled at Kirk. "But no, you said we had to, and we did. And now look where we've ended up! How you ever became a Captain I have no clue! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Bones, shut up!" Kirk snapped.

"Captain James T. Kirk, eh?" Gordon walked around to the other side of the couch to get a better look at the contents of the bag. "I'm with your friend. You're far too young to be a Captain; even Jim here was older than you when he was made Captain."

Kirk scowled. "That's what they all say;" he muttered. "I'm 26, you know."

"Okay, so Jim _was _younger than you."

"Wait, don't touch that!" McCoy made a move to jump off the couch as Gordon picked up one of the funny looking guns, but West pointed his own gun right at him.

"Sit down, Reb;" West ordered, which McCoy did.

"Reb? Why Reb?" McCoy asked.

"You're from the South, right?"

"Yes. Born and raised in Georgia. How'd you know?"

"You have a Southern accent, Rebel."

McCoy turned bright red as it dawned on him what West was talking about. "Damn Yankees;" he muttered under his breath. Kirk was nervously watching Gordon turn the gun over in his hands.

"What is this thing?" Gordon asked, looking the gun over. He pointed it at a dart board on the other end of the car. "I've never seen anything like it. Wonder what it fires…"

"NO!" Kirk and McCoy shouted as Gordon pulled the trigger. A beam of light shot out of the gun, frying the dart board Gordon was aiming at.

"Jesus Mary and Joseph!" Gordon cried, dropping the gun. Orrin, who had been off to the side, dropped the shot gun he was holding. West was stunned for a second, and then turned back to Kirk and McCoy, both of whom looked very uncomfortable.

"Explain;" West growled, motioning to the burnt board with his gun.

"You wouldn't believe us;" Kirk replied.

"Try me."

"We're from the future!" McCoy cried. "Jim here is the Captain of the Starship _Enterprise_; I'm the Chief Medical Officer. Somehow we were transported through time and space to this time period and were separated from our friend. So we broke into your train so we could get a change of clothes so we wouldn't stand out so much and could look for Spock." He took a few deep breaths, and looked at Kirk. "I just broke every rule in the book, haven't I?"

"Pretty much, yep;" Kirk replied. '_I knew I should have just stunned these two when I had the chance!_'

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Orrin's mouth hung open as he started inching towards the door. Gordon noticed him and nodded; allowing Orrin to rush out. Kirk frowned as he heard laughter from outside. West looked like he couldn't decide if McCoy had just given the truth or not.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!" Gordon exclaimed, trying not to laugh. "Jim, I say we let them go just for that excuse."

"It's the truth;" Kirk said. "You don't have to believe us, but it is. We _are _from the future; about five hundred years, give or take a few. Please, we have to find our friend; he might be in trouble. More trouble than us;" he added.

"Artie, I think they may be telling the truth;" West said.

"What?" Artie cried.

"What?" Kirk cried.

"Really?" McCoy cried.

West nodded. "I don't know why, but I believe you, Kirk. Artie, we've seen some pretty weird stuff. Heck, we even did some time traveling ourselves!"

"You have?" Kirk said.

"Good point;" Artie replied. "Still, this all seems a bit far fetched…"

"Yes, but it makes sense;" West pointed out. "I've never seen uniforms like theirs before, pretty sure you haven't either. All they were going to steal from us was a change of clothes and a hundred dollars, and a couple of apples. And you saw what that gun thing did to the dart board; even Loveless could never come up with something like that! So unless you have a better explanation, I say we go with theirs." He pointed his thumb at Kirk and McCoy, who wasn't freaking out any more.

"Okay, but now what?" Gordon asked. "What do we do with them?"

West frowned. "I don't know."

"You could give us the clothes;" Kirk said. "And let us on our merry way to find our friend."

"Jim, maybe they could help us;" McCoy hissed. "Because, quite frankly, I don't know the first thing about how to not stand out in the 1870s, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. Besides, we don't even know if Spock was transported back with us, or where to start looking if he was!"

"If your friend, Spock is it?" Gordon said. "If Spock stands out as much as you two, then finding him won't be that hard."

"Oh, he stands out all right;" Kirk replied. "He'll stand out _way _more than me and Bones…" He frowned. "Enough that he might end up in a bad way…"

"Spock is a smart… man;" McCoy reassured his Captain. "He won't draw too much attention to himself. Just enough for us to find him."

"Well, you're not going to find your friend Spock out here;" West said, folding his arms. "The closest city, and probably best bet, would be San Francisco."

"San Francisco?" Kirk said, perking up, but then remembered it wasn't the San Francisco he knew. "Oh, wait…"

"Jim, are you serious?" Gordon cried. "We can't take them to San Francisco!"

"How else are they going to get there, Artie? I highly doubt they can ride."

"I can ride a horse;" McCoy mumbled. "Sort of." Kirk said nothing.

"Besides, it's not a long trip, we'll be there by tomorrow morning;" West continued. "Once we get there, we'll set you two up, and you can go and find your friend. If Artie and I have time, we'll try and help you out."

Kirk stood up. "Thank you;" he said, holding his hand out. "Thank you very much Mr… uh… what was your name again."

"West. James West;" West answered, shaking Kirk's hand. "And this is Artemus Gordon, my partner."

"Nice to meet you;" McCoy said, shaking Gordon's hand.

"Likewise;" Gordon replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Spock was unsure as to how he had ended up in the small cell he was in. One of the last things he remembered was running away from something, with Kirk and McCoy running just behind him. The Captain and the Doctor, however, where no where to be found at the moment. His phaser, communicator, and tricorder were missing, but he wasn't surprised. Spock looked up as he heard a door at the end of the hall open, and the footsteps of several people. He stood up as they approached, and his eyebrow shot up as a very small man looked into his cell. The man smiled.

"You're awake!" he said happily.

"Indeed;" Spock replied. "Might I inquire as to where we are right now, sir?"

The little man jumped back in surprise, and the guards almost fell over in surprise as well. "You talk!" he squeaked.

"Naturally."

Regaining his composure, the little man looked up at Spock. "In your case, we are on Earth;" he said. "Roughly fifty miles outside the city of San Francisco. Not that you would know where that is…"

"San Francisco is located on the West Coast of North America;" Spock replied, causing the little man to jump in surprise again. "I have been to San Francisco several times." '_But how did I get here this time_? _We were on Gailon VI, several light-years from Earth. Clearly there is more going on here..._'

"Sir, could you tell me the current date?" Spock asked. He had an idea as to what had happened to him, and to what was going on.

The little man blinked. "Why? What would it matter to you?"

"I wish to know the date; that is all, sir."

"I believe it's the 15th;" the little man replied. "June 15."

"And the year, sir?"

"1875."

'_I've traveled back in time and space!_' Spock thought. '_This is not good. I must find Jim and Dr. McCoy quickly._'

"Sir, where are my friends located?"

"Your friends? What friends?" the little man asked. "We only found you. And please, stop calling me sir, I get that enough from these two." He pointed at the guards. "I am Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Loveless;" Spock said. He wasn't going to bother with his name quite yet. "You mean to say that I was the only one you came across? There were not two other men with me?"

"No, just you;" Loveless replied. "Tell me, do your friends look like you?"

"No, they are human;" Spock said, not mentioning that he himself was half human. "Dr. Loveless, it is imperative that I find my friends. If you would kindly return the objects you confiscated from me and let me leave…"

"Oh, I don't think so, my strange-alien friend!" Loveless said, wagging his finger. "You are staying locked up until I can figure out what you are exactly. As for your little toys, I'll keep those too. One doesn't do anything, and while the other is absolutely amazing in that it can tell me everything about anything, this one is by far my favorite." Loveless pulled out Spock's phaser.

'_Future technology in the hands of a person from the past;_' Spock thought. '_Not good, not good at all. This could have disastrous effects on the timeline, not to mention the space-time continuum._' Spock put his hand out. "Dr. Loveless, give that to me."

"No! It's mine now!" Loveless cried. "Just think, with this little gun, I could take the entire state of California! Then the United States, and then the World! No one would be able to stop me! So much destructive power, right in the palm of my hand!" He began to laugh menacingly, which caused Spock slight distress. He decided to try something he had once seen in an old Earth movie. Perhaps it would work here. Spock drew himself up to full height, towering over the little doctor.

"Dr. Loveless, you do not know what powers you are dealing with;" he said, trying to sound as "menacing" as possible. Vulcans may not get scared, but humans did; and Spock had experience in doing so, since he often managed to scare young Cadets and Ensigns (never on purpose, though). Loveless stopped laughing. "If you do not give me that… gun, along with my other belongings, and release me _immediately_, you will face a power far greater than just that gun;" Spock continued. '_Two phaers aren't much more powerful than one_;' Spock reminded himself. '_But a phaser in the hands of Captain Kirk is more powerful_.'

Loveless paused for a few seconds. "Boss, maybe we should listen to the pointy-eared freak;" one of the guards said. Spock suppressed a sigh. Apparently he would always be known to some as the "pointy-eared freak".

"Yah, Boss, I think he's serious!" the second added.

"Oh shut up! Shut up! Shut up both of you!" Loveless shouted, jumping up and down. He turned back to face Spock. "Let your friends come! After all, you told me they are human, and humans can be killed. And as far as I'm concerned, you are mortal as well, alien."

"My name is Spock, not alien;" said Spock. He could endure name calling, but only to an extent, and from certain people. "And it is not just my human friends you must worry about." '_Unfortunately, my people won't develop the warp drive for another fifty years or so._'

"Fine then, Spock, if that is your name, no you may not have your toys back, and no you may not leave!" Loveless snapped. "I have uses for you yet!"

"I will not comply with what ever you may be planning;" Spock replied. "Nor will you be able to force me. I am different than you humans, not just physically."

"We shall see, Mr. Spock, we shall see;" Loveless said. "I have broken the strongest of human wills; let us see how strong yours is before you are begging for mercy."

Spock said nothing as Loveless began to laugh again. '_Clearly you have not met one James T. Kirk;_' Spock said to himself. '_And Vulcans do not beg_.' Loveless left the two guards to watch Spock. Spock sighed, and sat down on his cot. At least this situation offered him the chance to meditate.

W~W~W~W

Despite being shocked, poked, and almost shot, Kirk was still exploring the train car; acting like a little kid in a candy store. Gordon would bark warnings out every few minutes, while McCoy and West just watched the consequences if Kirk didn't listen. Finally, West put down his book and looked at McCoy who was reading on the other couch.

"What did you say this kid was again?" he asked, nodding towards Kirk who was now inspecting a map of the current United States.

"Just think of him as a navy Captain;" McCoy replied, turning the page of his book. For some reason, he preferred physical books when reading for pleasure. PADDs were for reports and work related stuff.

West's eyes went wide. "They made that _kid _a ship Captain?"

McCoy nodded. "If you knew what he did, you would make him a Captain too;" he said. "Jim's a brilliant person… sometimes."

"I heard that!" Kirk said, still inspecting the map.

"Oi, don't touch that!" Gordon snapped, but it was too late. The map panel slid down, revealing a number of guns. Kirk's mouth just dropped open in surprise. He reached for one of the guns.

"Jim, I swear, the next time I hear Gordon say 'don't touch that', I will sedate you faster than you can say 'What does it do?';" McCoy cried, trying not to chuck his book at his Captain. Even though McCoy was one of the few people on board the _Enterprise _who could order Kirk around, Kirk was still his Captain, and could easily take his revenge once they were back in the future and on the ship. That is, if Kirk even dared take revenge.

Kirk, knowing McCoy was fully capable of following through with his threat, lowered his hand and turned to the others, who were all glaring at him.

"Fine;" he huffed, and sat down to stare out the window. West looked at McCoy, and smiled.

"Nice job, Doc;" he said.

"Thanks;" McCoy replied. West had stopped calling him 'Reb' a few hours ago, only because McCoy had used the same threat he had just used on Kirk, and gave a minor demonstration that left West unconscious for about half an hour. '_James West and Artemus Gordon_;' McCoy thought. '_I've heard the names before, but from where? It was a long time ago, that's for sure.'_

The quiet of the train car was disrupted as the train suddenly slowed; causing Kirk to slide off is chair and West to almost fall off his couch.

"Why are we slowing down?" McCoy asked as Gordon got up.

"I'll find out;" Gordon replied, opening a panel next to the fireplace and pulling out a speaker. "What's going on up there?"

He pressed his ear to the piece, and listened to the response. "They say we're being told to stop;" he said. "We best see why."

West, McCoy, and Kirk stood up. "No, you two are staying in here;" West said.

"Why?" Kirk asked.

"One, because I said so;" West snapped, though he knew he _technically _didn't out rank Kirk. The child Captain was _really _starting to annoy him. "Two, because you're not supposed to be here. And three, you can't go out looking like that." Kirk had changed back into his uniform after West demanded having his shirt back. McCoy, though he fit in Gordon's clothes, had chosen to just stay in his uniform.

"Jim, they're waiting for us;" Gordon said, opening the door as the train stopped. Two men on horseback were waiting outside.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" West said, stepping out onto the platform. He noticed Kirk and McCoy peeking out of one of the windows.

"The tracks are impassible up ahead;" one of the men said, shaking his head. "It's the strangest thing; we're not sure how it happened. Never seen anything like it…"

"What's wrong with the tracks?" Gordon asked.

"Best as I can describe it, they've melted;" the second man answered. "The people around here have already set about replacing the section, but it will take a few days."

"_Melted?_" West said. "What do you mean melted? Tracks can't melt." He could hear whispers coming from the inside of the train.

"Well, sir, these ones have;" the first man said. "They're all flat and mangled. I've worked on the rail for fifteen years before settlin' down here, and I never seen anything like this."

"You can check it out for yourselves, the section in question is about two miles down;" the second man added. "There's a siding about half a mile you can pull off on, the town's a mile from there. There's already two trains pulled into the platform."

Gordon nodded. "And I have a feeling it's going to get a lot more crowded until the rails are fixed;" he said. "We'll check out your tracks, I'm sure Colonel Richardson will love the explanation as to why we're late." West rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the heads up, gentlemen;" he said. "Artie, go tell Orrin and the boys to pull off on the next siding."

"Right;" said Gordon, and he headed back inside. The two men waved as the train pulled away. West waved back; so did Kirk and McCoy.

"Did you notice the two guys inside that train car?" the first asked his friend.

"Sure did;" the second said. "Wonder why they didn't come out."

W~W~W~W

"You have to let one of us go with you!" Kirk said as West and Gordon got ready to go.

"No, we don't;" West replied, strapping on his gun belt. "We've only got two horses. You two will be fine here for now. Until Artie and I figure out what's going on, neither of you are to leave this train. Got it?"

"You yourself said that nothing could melt a set of train rails;" Kirk said. "Our phasers have that capability! Those tracks could help us find Spock."

"Jim, I can't believe I'm saying this, but think logically here;" said McCoy. "Why would Spock_ melt _a section of rail? It doesn't make sense; it's illogical."

West wasn't sure what logic had to do with it, but Kirk sighed. "You're right, Bones. Spock wouldn't do that."

"Look, if you two behave, we'll take you out to dinner tonight, okay?" Gordon said, shooting West a look so he wouldn't question it. "And if we find anything that might be about your friend, we'll tell you."

"Okay;" McCoy said. Kirk was silent, but finally nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him;" McCoy whispered to Gordon.

Gordon smiled. "He's a lot like my Jim;" he said. "Hyper-active, hard to keep in one place."

McCoy snorted. "You have no idea."

He and Kirk watched as West and Gordon rode out towards the "melted" train tracks.

"I know what you're thinking, Jim, and don't think you can do it;" McCoy said coldly. Kirk noticed the hypo that was in the Doctor's hands.

"No problem, Bones, I was reading a good book earlier anyways;" he said walking over to the couch. Kirk rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the multiple times McCoy's hypos had found their mark.

"A good book…" McCoy muttered. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head and he snapped his fingers. "Jim! That's it! A good book!"

"Bones, what are you talking about?" Kirk asked.

"James West and Artemus Gordon, I've heard their names before;" McCoy explained excitedly. "Years ago I read the memoirs of an early American Secret Service agent named Artemus Gordon, who had a partner named James West! Jim, those two are them! They were real people!"

"So?"

"So, we can trust them, Jim! We managed to find the two people in this time period that might actually be able to help us." '_I hope._'

"I don't believe it. I see it; but I don't believe it."

West and Gordon stood next to a hundred yard stretch of melted train tracks. The steel rails looked like melted wax, and some parts were twisted and bent. The rail ties were burnt, and a few were still smoldering. What ever had melted the rails was hot and fast.

"We're lucky that Old Henry over there saw the tracks before any trains came along;" the sheriff said. "I don't want to know what might have happened if a train tried to pass here."

"I'd say;" West mumbled, still in slight shock. "Mind if we look around?"

"You've already shown me your papers, so go ahead;" the sheriff said. "Just don't get in the way of anything." A group of workers was already starting the process of fixing the rail; pulling out the burnt railroad ties.

"Are there any prints?" Gordon asked, looking over one of the removed ties.

"There are a few over there." The sheriff pointed to a section of rail that hadn't been touched yet. "Far as I could tell, there were a few horses, and three, four, maybe five men."

West bent down to inspect the prints in the dirt. "I'd say these are pretty fresh;" he said. "No more than six hours. Maybe four men, and judging from the prints, one was on the small side."

The sheriff whistled. "You're good;" he said. West smiled his thanks.

Gordon frowned. "What I don't understand is why someone would sabotage these tracks;" he said. "This area doesn't get much traffic, most trains go south to get to San Francisco."

"And we only came this way because it was faster;" West added. Something was wrong, and not just the melted tracks. Suddenly, an idea began to form in West's mind.

"Artie, who else knew we were headed to San Francisco along this route?"

"I don't know Jim;" Gordon said. "Probably a few people, but nobody outside the Service. Why?"

"Small footprints equal a small person, Artie."

Gordon's eyes went wide. "Jim, you really think it might be Loveless? We haven't heard from him in months!"

"Exactly; we're over due for a visit from the good Doctor. And the fact that we were traveling along an infrequently used route and this happened." West pointed to the tracks. "I doubt that it's a coincidence."

"It could be someone else, Jim;" Artie said. "Maybe they were just testing out what ever did this, knowing that it was unlikely to interfere with train traffic to make sure it worked, before using it on a main line."

"And let people know about it? They would have tested it before, used it on a main line, and made demands;" West said. "Maybe not in that order, of course."

"I think you're just paranoid about Loveless, Jim;" Gordon said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Maybe it is him, but we don't have definitive proof yet."

"Maybe;" West sighed. "The question is how do Kirk and McCoy and their friend Spock fit into this."

"Why would they fit into this?" Gordon asked.

"Before we left, Kirk said their phaser things could melt train rails;" West said, walking over to his waiting horse. "McCoy said their friend Spock would never do such a thing, that is was illogical. But obviously someone did; and I have a feeling they used a phaser."

"What does logic have to do with it?" Gordon wondered aloud.

West shrugged. "Maybe this 'Spock' character is very logical. Let's get back to the train, I want to ask our guests a few questions, and you owe them a dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

So far, Spock had learned a few things about his nervous guards. One was named Ralf and was from New York; the other was named Grant, and was from Chicago. They had been hired by Loveless two weeks earlier, expecting a "traditional bank robbing gig", only to find themselves guarding an alien instead. Spock had learned little about Loveless from Ralf and Grant, only that he was a genius, and wanted for several crimes by the US Government. In return, Spock told them he was from a planet far outside the Solar System, and that he had been on a very important mission when he was separated from his friends; all of which wasn't far from the truth.

"I would not do that if I were you;" Spock warned. Ralf, who had been planning to poke the Vulcan with the end of his shotgun, froze.

"How'd you do that?" he gasped. Spock was sitting on the floor with his eyes closed, unmoving. After thirty minutes, Ralf decided to test if the alien was asleep. He wasn't.

"I could hear you coming;" Spock replied. "My hearing is much more acute than a normal human." He didn't mention that he could also hear some of their thoughts. The fact that he was a telepath might come in handy later on.

"What's 'acute' mean?" Grant asked.

"Sharp;" Spock said. "My hearing is better than yours."

"Oh;" Ralf and Grant said. Ralf sat back down, slightly perturbed that his chance at some fun with their prisoner had been ruined. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the door at the top of the stairs was thrown open; causing Ralf to fall off his chair, Grant to nearly fire his gun, and Spock to open his eyes. A very happy Dr. Loveless came down the stairs.

"I want to thank you, Mr. Spock;" he said. "Your little gun is even more amazing than I thought possible! And thanks to it and some previous intelligence, I have managed to trap my greatest foes right where I want them! Now I shall finally get my revenge on James West, and he is powerless to stop me!"

"Might I ask what my role in all this is?" Spock asked.

"You don't have much of a role, I'm afraid;" Loveless said. "But, outside my plans for West, I want to know more about you. Where you come from, how you got here, your technology."

"I have told you where I am from;" Spock replied. "Also that I am not entirely sure how I arrived here. I'm afraid that I cannot tell you about technology; that would go against the Prime Directive."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that;" Loveless said with a grin. "But I have my ways of making people talk. Take him out and bring him to my lab."

Ralf moved forward and unlocked the cell door, letting Grant in. Once Spock was out they both grabbed an arm and began to lead Spock towards the stairs. Suddenly, Spock pulled free of Grant and found the pressure point on the back of his neck, taking him down with a nerve pinch. Before Ralf could react and bring his gun up, Spock spun him around and knocked him out with another nerve pinch. Spock sprinted towards the door, when a bolt of energy surged through his body.

'_Loveless had the phaser;_' he realized as he fell to the ground. '_And he has figured out how to use it._'

"I couldn't help but notice this little gun has two settings;" Loveless said, standing over Spock. The Vulcan fought to stay conscious and regain control of his body, which was harder than the latter. "One is 'kill' the other is 'stun'. I've already tried out the kill setting; that's how I took care of the train rails, and an annoying witness. But I like the stun setting too." Loveless looked at the unconscious guards. "The way you took those two out was impressive. You are clearly stronger and faster than a human; I must take that into account now. But how did you do that? There were no punches thrown, they just went down after you grabbed the back of their necks. Or are you not allowed to tell me that either?" He looked down at Spock, who stared back defiantly. Loveless shrugged.

"Tori! Adam! Jack! Get down here and carry our guest up to my lab!" He smiled at Spock. "I have my ways, Spock."

W~W~W~W

"Here they come!" Kirk cried. He watched as West and Gordon approached the train. "I wonder what they found."

"Jeeze, calm down Jim;" McCoy snapped as Kirk jumped off the chair. They waited a few minutes until West and Gordon finally walked in.

"Well?" Kirk asked. He was practically bouncing up and down.

"The rails were melted alright;" West replied. "No sign of your friend, though."

"Oh." Kirk lost some of his enthusiasm.

"Look, I need to ask you two some questions;" West said. "Because I need answers. And none of this 'I can't tell you that, it's against the rules' crap. I understand that there are things you can't tell us, but I still need answers."

"I'll send a message to Colonel Richmond;" Gordon said, side-stepping West. "He's going to love this."

"Kirk, can one of your phasers really melt a steel rail?" West asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure a phaser could do that;" Kirk replied. "I've never tried it, but I've seen phasers do some pretty crazy things to different objects. It depends on the power setting."

"Oh wow, a telegraph!" McCoy gasped as Gordon pulled the transceiver out. "My dad had one of those in his office as a decoration."

"Yes, well, this one works;" Gordon said. He tapped out a quick message and waited for the reply.

"So it is possible?" West asked.

"Yes, I believe so. But we didn't do it, if that's what you're thinking!"

"No, you were with us when it happened. Does your friend Spock have a phaser too?"

"Yes."

"You sure he wouldn't do something like this?"

"Positive;" McCoy said. "That pointy-eared bastard is a walking computer. If something is illogical, he won't do it. And melting a bunch of train rails isn't logical."

"I take that as a 'no';" West muttered, not entirely sure what Dr. McCoy was talking about. "Was there anyone else with you?"

"No, we were the only ones who fell into the portal;" Kirk said. "But this means that someone else found Spock or his phaser. We need to find them before it disrupts the timeline even further!" He looked at Gordon who had started to tap out a message. "Don't tell them about us."

Gordon looked at West, who nodded. "I don't think they would believe it anyway;" Gordon muttered. "Time travel, aliens, phasers, heck, I don't believe all of it!"

"Some how, you two and your friend fit into all this, I'm just not sure how;" West said, shaking his head. "And until they repair the rails, we're not going anywhere."

"We might be able to find out more in town;" Kirk said.

"We?" West and McCoy said.

"Well, Colonel Richmond is probably throwing a fit right now that his two best agents won't be in San Francisco in time for the banquet;" Gordon said as he put the telegraph away. "But… wait what?"

"Who said anything about 'we'?" West said, leaning in towards Kirk.

"I did;" Kirk replied, leaning towards West.

"Artie and I don't need your help."

"Well, you're going to get it anyways. Bones and I are already wrapped up in this."

"No you're not."

"Yes we are. Our friend is missing, and someone used his phaser to melt a bunch of train rails. I'd say that means we're a part of this."

"Maybe, but you are not part of the investigation."

"I have to find my First Officer! We are part of this investigation!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, we are!"

The two were close enough at this point that their foreheads were almost touching. Gordon opened his mouth to say something, but McCoy beat him to it. The Doctor let out a sharp whistle, causing Gordon to flinch and West and Kirk to pull away from each other.

"Stop it, both of you!" McCoy shouted. "Look, West, Jim and I need to find Spock; and since you and Gordon here are also, in a way, looking for him, it makes sense that you include us in the search. Besides, we might be able to help you; my tricorder does more than just diagnosis's."

"Jim, the Doctor has a point;" Gordon said, nodding towards McCoy. "I don't see what harm would be done by letting them help. Besides, we can't keep them locked up in the train for the next few days."

Kirk smiled as West realized that he had lost the argument. "Fine;" West said. "But you two have to try and blend in. And you have to do as I say, got that Kirk?"

"Just know that I still out rank you;" Kirk muttered. "But yes, I understand, sir."

"Understood, Captain West;" McCoy replied sharply, snapping to attention. Kirk gave him a sideways glance.

"Good;" West said with a nod. "Now then, we're not going to be able to much from here, we are going to have to head into town."

"And that means a hotel;" Gordon added. He clapped his hands together. "James, my boy, this is going to be good. Come on boys, it's time to dress you space cadets up."

W~W~W~W

Spock wasn't sure how long he had lost consciousness, but he wasn't in his cell when he woke up. Instead, he was tied to a chair in the middle of some kind of laboratory. He pulled against the ropes, but was unable to free his hands or feet.

"Ah, Mr. Spock, you woke up!"

Spock looked up to find Loveless standing on the balcony above him with a lovely young woman beside him. Loveless darted down the stairs followed by the girl.

"Mr. Spock, I would like you to meet Antoinette;" Loveless said, motioning to the girl. Antoinette gasped as she noticed Spock's eyebrows and ears. "Now Antoinette, don't be rude."

"How do you do, Mr. Spock;" Antoinette said shyly, giving a short curtsey.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Antoinette;" Spock replied with a slight nod. Antoinette turned bright red and rushed off into a corner. Loveless shook his head.

"She insisted that she get to see you;" he explained. "Seems your appearance is a bit of a shock for her."

"It is for most people, sir;" Spock said. "Might I ask what is going on?"

Loveless spun around and smiled at the Vulcan. "I wish to know about you, Spock;" he said. "For starters, why are you so darn formal all the time?"

Spock's eyebrow went up. "Is it not proper to be formal, Dr. Loveless?"

"It is proper; I just find it strange that you are so formal to everyone, even the hired help." Loveless glanced over at the door, where Spock could see a guard sitting outside. "But that is beside the point. Since we both know you won't tell me anything freely, I am forced to use a bit of persuasion to get what I want." Loveless jumped up onto a stool, and pulled down a small vial of liquid. "This should do it!"

"Doctor, let me remind you that I am different from humans;" Spock said. "Neither of us knows what the affects of that liquid will be."

Loveless just shrugged as he drew some of the liquid from the vial. "Well then, let's find out, shall we? Unless you are afraid, in which case I suggest you start talking."

"Fear is an emotion;" Spock said calmly. "Emotions can be controlled."

"And you seem to be very good at that;" Loveless commented. "There, that should do it. Are you sure you won't say anything now? Like you said, the affects of this drug on you are unknown."

Spock said nothing as he prepared for what was to come. Loveless shrugged.

"Very well, be that way." Loveless pulled Spock's shirt sleeve up, and pushed the needle through the Vulcan's skin.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are we there yet?"

"Jim, shut up!"

Kirk sighed and pulled at his shirt collar. "These things are just as bad at the dress uniforms!" he complained. West turned his head and gave Kirk a hard 'shut up Jim' look.

"Well, you're going to have to put up with it until we get into town and buy you some clothes that actually fit!" he snapped. "Now shut up!"

Kirk shrank back and muttered something under his breath. He was riding on West's horse with West, which had taken a while since it took Kirk several tries to actually get up on the horse, which the horse didn't like at all. West had lent the Captain a change of clothes to wear into town, even though they were a bit small on Kirk. McCoy was riding with Gordon, and was having an easier time. He was closer in size to Gordon, and so Gordon had lent him several changes of clothes for the next few days. It was slow going into town with the horses carrying two riders instead of just one, as well as some belongings. But after twenty minutes, they arrived. Kirk jumped off the horse and stretched.

"Remind me not to do that again;" he said, rubbing his sore behind.

"Jim, there are no hover-transports, just horses;" McCoy muttered. "You're going to have to get used to it."

"I know that Bones;" Kirk said.

"Come on, space cadets, let's check in;" Gordon said.

"Would you stop calling us that?" Kirk cried

"Nope;" Gordon replied with a smile. "Come on, Captain, we'll get you a change on clothes once we're all settled in."

Kirk and McCoy followed Gordon into the hotel. West was talking to the girl at the front desk, already seeing about getting them some rooms.

"You gentlemen are lucky, we only have to rooms left;" she said. "So you'll have to share."

"Artie's with me, you two are together;" West said.

Kirk frowned. "Aw come on, I was already roommates with Bones for three years at school!" he moaned. West, McCoy, and Gordon all shot a 'shut up, Jim' look, and Kirk snapped his mouth shut.

"You can survive two nights;" West growled at him. He turned to the girl. "That's fine, may we have the keys."

"Here you go!" she said, handing the keys over. "You are in rooms 11 and 12. Up the stairs and all the way to the right."

"Thank you;" West said. He tipped his hat and smiled, causing the girl to blush and Kirk to turn red in frustration.

"Jim, actual keys!" McCoy whispered, turning the iron key over in his hand. "Oh wow, this is cool!"

"Yah, amazing;" Kirk replied sarcastically. "Bones, it's a flippin' _key_."

The two stopped in front of their door. West inserted the key to his and Artie's room and looked at McCoy. "Aren't you going to unlock it?"

McCoy looked at West and turned a deep red. "How does it work?" he asked quietly. Gordon stifled a laugh, though a small giggle escaped as West rolled his eyes and showed McCoy and Kirk how a key lock worked.

"Do they not have keys in the future?" West cried once he was in his own room. Gordon fell onto the bed laughing. There was a loud banging on the wall from the next room.

"We can hear you!" McCoy shouted. Gordon just continued laughing.

Half an hour later, West, McCoy, and Gordon were waiting for Kirk to finish changing. They had found a tailor in town that was willing to make Kirk a change of clothes, though it was taking longer than the Captain would have liked.

Kirk pulled back the curtain and stepped out. "Well?"

He was wearing a gold-tan jacket with black pants and a white shirt. He had insisted on the gold-ish jacket, since it was the closest to his command shirt in color.

"Not bad;" Gordon said.

"I like it, Jim;" McCoy added. "Looks good on you."

Kirk looked at himself in the mirror, and smiled. "I like it too;" he said. "And it all fits!"

By time Kirk was done, he had three new shirts, two jackets, and two pairs of pants. McCoy had bought a jacket and a shirt.

"Not sure how we'll repay you guys;" he told West and Gordon. "But we'll make it up to you… at least _I'll _make it up to you."

West paid the slightly confused tailor, and the four headed to the restaurant across from their hotel for dinner. McCoy clapped his hands as the entered.

"Time for some real food;" he said happily. "Not that replicated stuff they feed us."

"Replicated?" Gordon asked.

"Never mind."

They found an empty table off to the side, and a waitress came by with the menus.

"Anything to drink, gentlemen?" she asked.

"Beer."

"Beer."

"Some bourbon."

Kirk nearly ordered an Orion Stringer, but settled on the house lager. "At least I didn't try Romulan Ale;" he said. McCoy just hit him.

"I could get you Court Marshaled for that;" Kirk said. "Assault on a superior officer."

"Jim, I dare you to try that when we get back;" McCoy replied, reaching for his bag, and the several hypos that he never left home without. Kirk squirmed a little, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jeeze Bones, I'm only kidding;" he said. "You're the best CMO in the Fleet. Getting you dismissed would be suicide!"

"You bet your ass it would be!" McCoy hissed.

"What's in that stuff anyways?" Gordon asked, nodding at the hypo. "I don't have anything that works as fast."

McCoy winked. "Concentrated futuristic formula;" he said. "I can't tell you."

"Oh come on Doc!" Gordon pleaded.

"Nope, sorry Gordon, no can do;" McCoy said, shaking his head. "I've already screwed up this no interfering with the past stuff; I don't want to do it again."

Gordon gave a shrug of defeat, and took a sip of his beer. "Ah, here's dinner!"

The waitress from before came over with three plates balanced. "Here y'are boys!" she said. "Two shepherd's pies, one steak, and your soup will be right out, sir." McCoy nodded. "No problem, miss;" he said. A minute later she came back with his soup.

"If you need anything, just yell;" she said, and hurried off to serve some of the customers.

"So, Captain, Doctor, are you allowed to tell us where you're from?" West asked, taking a bite of his steak.

"Don't see why not;" Kirk replied. "I'm from Iowa, though I'm not sure if Riverside has even been founded yet. My dad died when I was born… kind of hard to explain. It was just me and my brother, and our step-father Frank. My mom was always away…"

"As you already guessed, I'm from Georgia;" McCoy said quickly. He didn't want Kirk to have to pull up painful memories anymore than he had to. "I grew up in a small town outside Atlanta. If it has been founded, it's in ruins right now…" He smiled. "Damn Yankees."

West and Gordon both rolled their eyes. "Anyways, I grew up, moved out, got married, got divorced, lost custody of my child, and the wife took the entire planet and left me with nothing but my bones." McCoy took a sip of his bourbon. "How about you two?"

"Born and raised in up state New York;" West said. "'Nuff said."

Knowing that West wouldn't say much more than that, Gordon spoke up. "I'm from outside Chicago;" he said. "I was an actor before the war; I still am, in a way… Hey Jim, check your five o'clock."

West peered over his shoulder at a group of men who had just entered the restaurant. The headed straight to the bar and began harassing the bartender.

"The guy with the black hat;" Gordon whispered. "Doesn't he look familiar?"

West nodded. "Sure does;" he said. "And he just proved my earlier theory with the train rails."

"What are you two talking about?" Kirk hissed.

"Last time we saw the man in the black hat over there, he was working for one Dr. Miguelito Loveless;" Gordon explained. "You could say Loveless is a nemesis of sorts for us. Anyway, Jim had a theory that Loveless had found your friend and used his wha-cha-ma-call-it to melt the rails; which would give him a chance to exact revenge on Jim and me."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Kirk asked, getting up.

"Whoa there, Captain, slow down;" West said as he and McCoy grabbed Kirk's arms and pulled him back down. "We can't just go up to the guy and demand to see Dr. Loveless. One, you'd get shot; and two, we'd get killed. Loveless already knows Artie and I are here, but he doesn't know about you and Dr. McCoy. With any luck we'll be able to play that to our advantage. For now, though, we just pay our tab and leave."

"And what about Spock?" Kirk asked.

"We'll figure out how to rescue him, I promise;" West replied. He waved down the waitress who gave them a bill. "Artie, you owe me;" West said as he paid the amount and handed it back to the waitress.

"You four best skedaddle;" she said. "Once those guys show up, it gets crazy in here real fast."

"Who are they?" McCoy asked.

"Not sure really;" the waitress replied. "I think they work at the ranch about five miles from here."

"Hey'a Lizzie;" one of the men said, stumbling over to the table. He was clearly already drunk. "What'cha doin'? I thought you was my girl!"

"I told you, Ralf Harris, I'm not your girl!" Lizzie said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Let go of me!" She struggled against his grip, but he just laughed, as did the rest of his friends. Before McCoy could stop him, Kirk stood up and walked over to Ralf.

"Excuse me, but she told you to let go;" he said, tapping the man on the shoulder. "I'd suggest you do so."

"'Cuse me, but it none o' your business!" Ralf responded. "And what you goin'a do 'bout it, _boy_?"

That was the breaking point for Kirk; he was tired of people calling him 'boy'. "This!" he said, and punched Ralf square across the jaw. Ralf let go of Lizzie, who darted towards Kirk's friends, as he spun across the room.

"Aw, you goin'a get it now, boy!" Ralf cried, charging at Kirk. Kirk side-stepped the attack and spun Ralf into a wall.

'_This guy is tough!_' Kirk thought as Ralf shook his head and stood up. Ralf landed a few hard punches on the Captain, forcing him back. Kirk pushed off the bar counter, and drove Ralf back. With his opponent on the ropes, Kirk finished him off with a quick combo. The restaurant was silent. Kirk wiped a bit of blood from his mouth and smiled at the rest of Ralf's group.

"Any of you want a go?"

They all glanced nervously at the unconscious Ralf, and quickly shook their heads. Kirk nodded.

"Good. Guys, let's go."

Kirk marched out the door, followed by a surprised West and Gordon, and a near furious McCoy.

"Jim, what the hell was that about!" McCoy yelled. "Were you _mad_?"

"Bones, I won, didn't I?" Kirk said. "And I'm mostly fine, just a few scratches."

"We'll see about that!" McCoy cried, grabbing Kirk's arm and dragging him towards the hotel. "Just let me get a good look at you and then we'll see about…"

"Excuse me!"

The four turned to find the waitress Lizzie rushing out of the restaurant.

"I wanted to thank you properly;" she said, stopping in front of Kirk. "You didn't need to do that. Ralf used to be my boyfriend, but not any more. He's just a big jerk."

"It was my pleasure;" Kirk said with a smile. "I don't think he'll be bothering you for a little while."

"No, I guess not;" Lizzie replied, looking up at him. "What's your name, by the way?"

"James; James Kirk. But you can call me Jim."

Lizzie laughed. "I'm Lizzie Taylor. Well then thank you Jim Kirk!"

"Miss Lizzie! You have tables!" someone screamed from the restaurant. Lizzie sighed.

"Will I see you around, Jim Kirk?" she asked.

Kirk nodded. "Probably. I'm not sure how long we'll be in town."

She smiled. "Good. See you around!" She rushed back to the restaurant, leaving a very happy Captain James T. Kirk in the middle of the street.

"Come on, _lover boy_;" McCoy said, grabbing Kirk's arm again. "Let's get you patched up."

Ten minutes later, West and Gordon could find no trace of the cut on Kirk's cheek, or the several bruises that he should have had from the fight.

"Some medicine;" Gordon said, giving a low whistle.

"Now that I'm all fixed up;" Kirk said, glaring at a smug looking McCoy. "Now what do we do?"

"Clean up and get ready to turn in;" West said. "Tomorrow we'll check out the ranch that Lizzie mentioned, and see if Loveless is hanging out there, or if your friend is there."

Kirk smiled. "We?"

West shot him a 'shut up Jim' look. Kirk just sighed. He had been getting a lot of those lately.

"Well, I'm going to go and wash up;" McCoy said, standing up. "Which way was the bathroom again?"

Gordon shook his head. "Space cadets…"

W~W~W~W

Loveless was getting very frustrated with Spock. The first drug failed to take any affect. The second did nothing as well. The third drug he administered to the Vulcan, however, had made him sick to his stomach. Spock lay on the small cot in his cell as violent cramps seized his body. He was having difficulty controlling the pain as it came and went in random waves, sometimes catching him by surprise. The result wasn't the intended one, causing Loveless to give up for no on his quest to make Spock talk.

Spock closed his eyes. '_There is no pain. There is no pain…_' Slowly the pain dissipated, though the discomfort was still there.

"Oh you poor thing!"

Spock opened his eyes and found Antoinette standing outside his cell with a tray.

"Jack, would you let me in, please?" she said.

"I d'know miss;" Jack replied. "He's pretty dangerous when he wants to be…"

"Jack, I'll be fine;" Antoinette said. "Now open the door."

Spock watched as the guard shrugged and unlocked the cell door. Antoinette shook her head as she placed the tray down and pulled the stool over next to Spock's cot. She picked up a damp cloth and dabbed it along Spock's forehead.

"Easy there;" she said gently. "This will make you feel better. The drug the Doctor gave you wasn't supposed to make you sick like this."

"My physiology is different from a human's;" Spock said. "I react to certain drugs. Perhaps the Doctor should tell me what he is going to give me next time."

"I'll suggest that to him when I see him;" Antoinette replied. "Now here, do you feel well enough to have some soup? I made it myself."

"What is in it?"

"It's chicken noodle; my mother's recipe."

Spock shook his head. "I do not eat animal flesh."

Antoinette gave him a puzzled look. "You don't eat meat?"

"No, I do not;" Spock said. "I am sorry, I am sure that the soup is wonderful, but I cannot eat it. I am not sure if eating in my current condition would be the best idea either."

"Well, more for the rest of us then;" she sighed. "I'll leave you the bread and butter though; and the water. And the cookie…"

"Does your cookie contain chocolate?"

"Yes, why?"

"I cannot eat chocolate either."

Antoinette looked slightly horrified. "You can't eat chocolate?" she cried. "Is there anything else you can't eat that I should know about?"

"No, I believe that is everything;" Spock said. His voice was slightly strained as a new group of cramps began, but Antoinette didn't notice.

"Oh, okay;" she said. She picked up the bowl of soup, and took a bite from the cookie. "I'll come back for the tray later." And with that, the guard let her out and Antoinette left.

"You is a strange one, mister;" Jack the guard said once Antoinette was gone.

"Humans always tell me that;" Spock replied, and turned over to face the wall. He needed rest, and needed to find a way to escape and locate Kirk and Dr. McCoy. For now, though, he just needed to control the effects of the drugs.


	5. Chapter 5

McCoy walked into the restaurant across the street from their hotel. The hotel offered a very limted breakfast, so they had decided to just eat at the restaurant. Gordon looked up from his cup of coffee and newspaper, and waved the Doctor over to the table.

"I managed to drag Jim's ass out of bed five minutes ago;" McCoy said, puling his chair back. "He should be here in about ten."

"Sounds like my Jim;" Artie took a sip of coffee. "Sometimes he just won't get out of bed."

"At the Academy, Jim was constantly late for his classes;" McCoy said as the waitress poured him a cup of coffee. "Sometimes I was late to class because of him. But now he's normally on time for his shifts, give or take a few minutes. I've only had to wake him up twice for being late in the last few months."

"He seems a bit adolescent for a command position;" Gordon remarked.

"Jim is still a kid, but he has it where it counts;" McCoy replied. "I wouldn't want anyone else in the Captain's Chair other than him when we get into some tight situations." McCoy frowned. "Don't tell him I said that, his ego would go through the roof and he'd never let me live it down."

Gordon laughed. "My lips are sealed!"

McCoy smiled. "Good." He drank some of his coffee. "Ah, the real stuff;" he sighed. "I've missed you." Gordon watched as McCoy downed half of his cup in ten seconds. "Can I call you Artemus?"

Gordon nodded. "Sure, but I think I'll just stick to Doc."

"Good, having Jim call me 'Bones' is enough;" McCoy said. "How long have you known West? You two seem pretty close."

"I met Jim West during the War;" Gordon said. "He was almost like Kirk, young but brilliant. He was an aid in General Grant's camp. Anyways, we both ended up in the Secret Service, though we weren't partners at first. When we were first assigned a mission as partners, we nearly got ourselves killed. After that, we agreed to make amends and learned to trust and understand each other." Gordon smiled. "Jim's like a brother to me. I can't imagine not having him around."

"I wouldn't say Kirk is an annoying, obnoxious, trouble-causing younger brother;" McCoy said. "But that's as far as I'd go with him."

Gordon laughed. "From what I can tell, I would say the same thing." The two fell silent for a few moments to take some sips from their coffee. "Doc, who is this Spock fellow you and Kirk are trying to find?"

"Spock is Jim's First Officer;" McCoy explained. "He's an alien, though he is half human, you wouldn't know that though. As much as Spock is a pain in the ass, he's a good officer, and loyal. A bit too straight forward if you ask me, he's always doing the "logical" thing. That's his entire world really, logic." McCoy looked down into his coffee. "Not that he has a world anymore. His planet was destroyed about a year ago…"

Gordon nearly choked on his coffee. "His planet was destroyed?" he coughed.

"I can't tell you much more than that;" McCoy said with a shrug. "Futuristic things, and all that. But quite frankly, Jim and I need to find Spock because he's probably the only one out of the three of us who might be able to come up with a decent theory on how to get home. Spock's pretty good with that kind of stuff. I just fix people up. Jim, well, Jim's just Jim."

"Huh;" Gordon said. He took a bite of potatoes. "Well, with any luck, everybody will win within the next day or two. You and Kirk will find your friend and Jim and I will maybe manage to lock up Dr. Loveless."

"Sounds good to me;" McCoy said, holding up his fork. "Hey, good morning Mr. West."

"Mornin' Doc;" West replied, sitting down. "Sleep well?"

"Well, now I remember why I disliked having Jim Kirk as a roommate;" McCoy replied. "He woke me up twice."

"Doing what?" asked Gordon.

"Once going out the window, and again coming back in;" McCoy said. "I have a feeling he came over here to check on that girl Lizzie."

West and Gordon both groaned after noticing that Lizzie Taylor was no where to be seen.

"Speaking of which, where is Captain Kirk now?" West asked.

"Probably trying to find the head hole in his shirt;" McCoy said with a smile. "Jim's not much of a morning person." He waited as West drank some coffee. "So, West, what are we going to do today?"

"I was planning on checking out the ranch the girl Lizzie mentioned last night;" West said. "Scout out the area really; see if I can determine if Loveless is hanging out around there, and maybe if your friend is there too. What does he look like?"

"Spock will be the one that looks different from every other human;" McCoy said. "Trust me; you'll know him when you see him."

West shrugged. "Okay then, good to know."

"Ah, Captain, you're awake!" Gordon said. "What took you so long?"

"Couldn't find the right shirt;" Kirk muttered. "Where's the coffee?"

"Right behind you Jim;" McCoy said. The waitress smiled as she refilled everyone's mugs, and walked over to the kitchen to get Kirk and West a plate each. She returned two minutes later to find Kirk's coffee gone, and he demanded more.

"Jim, easy on the caffeine;" McCoy warned. "You know what that stuff does to your system."

"Yah, it wakes me up and keeps me going;" Kirk snapped.

"He's always a bit grumpy first thing in the morning;" McCoy whispered.

Kirk glared at the Doctor. "_You _would be the one to talk! You're always grouchy in the morning!" He then noticed McCoy wasn't in a grouchy mood. "Why are you in a good mood this morning? It's because you got to drag me out of bed when I was half asleep, isn't it?"

"Now Jim, what would make you say that?" McCoy asked innocently.

Kirk narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you, McCoy;" he growled.

"Okay, break it up!" Gordon said. "So Jim, when do we head out?"

"Once breakfast is done;" West replied. "Hopefully I'll be able to get a good idea of the number of men Loveless has."

"Wait, I'm not going?"

"No, Artie, not this time;" West said, shaking his head. "Two people are more likely to be noticed. Besides, I need somebody to stay back incase Loveless gets his hands on me; and I know just how much you _love_ blowing open jail cells."

McCoy frowned slightly at the small twinkle that appeared in Gordon's eyes at the idea of explosions. "West, I'll go with you;" he said.

"No dice, Doc, it's too dangerous."

"Landing on Gailon VI was dangerous, we ended up here!" McCoy snapped.

"What's Gailon VI?" Gordon muttered.

"Anyways;" McCoy continued, lowering his voice. "My tricorder may be of the medical variety, but it has a long range mode that should give us a better idea of the number of men, without having to expose ourselves that much. It also will pick up on Spock if he's there since he has a different bio-signature than humans."

"I have no idea what you said at the end;" said a slightly confused West. "But I like the sound of that. I'm guessing you can't show me how to work that tri-quarter thing of yours, can you?"

"Nope, either I go, or you don't get it;" McCoy replied. "And it's tri_corder_, not tri-_quarter_."

"Fine. Can you ride, Doc?"

"What? You're taking him?" Kirk cried.

McCoy smiled. "What Southern Gentleman _wouldn't _know how to ride, Yankee?" West rolled his eyes.

"Okay, good. That's one less thing I have to worry about."

"Kirk and I will take another look at the train rails;" Gordon said. "The question is can you ride, Captain?"

"No, not really;" Kirk replied quietly. "I mean, I did when I was little. But I wasn't very good even then."

"I'll give you a reminder course;" Gordon said. "It's settled then. When and where should we meet when all this is done?"

"We meet here;" West said. "At the corner table over there at three o'clock."

"Bones, take your communicator;" Kirk said. "Call us if anything happens."

"Right;" McCoy replied. "West, let me get my stuff, I'll meet you out front."

"I'll see about renting some horses for the afternoon;" Gordon said. He looked at Kirk. "I'll let you ride Mesa. She's a gentle one; good for beginners."

Kirk turned bright red and opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He would prove to Gordon and the others he could ride a horse, even if it killed him.

W~W~W~W

West led the way with his black stallion, followed by McCoy on a young pinto. West was surprised at how well the Doctor could ride.

"Just like riding a bicycle;" McCoy told him. "You never really forget. My sister loved horses, so she taught me how to ride. It's a skill that's come in handy quite a number of times."

West looked back at McCoy. "How much of a range did you say your thingy-ma-bober has?"

"About 500 meters;" McCoy replied.

"1.5 whats?"

"A little over quarter of a mile!" McCoy said. "I forgot, you don't use the Metric System yet. If I had a standard tricorder, it would have more of a range; but my medical one will do the trick for now."

West slowed his horse and came to a stop at the foot of a small hill. "We go on foot from here;" he said, hitching his horse to a nearby tree. McCoy did the same, and after thanking the pinto, he hurried after West, clutching the bag with his tricorder, phaser, and communicator. Gordon had lent the Doctor a nice pistol, but McCoy had a thing about guns in any form and didn't intend on using it for any purposes other than show.

"I'm a doctor, not a gunslinger;" he had said as he strapped the gun belt on. "I heal people, not kill them."

"No, but you certainly can hurt people;" Kirk had added. West had to hold McCoy back from throttling the young Captain while Gordon pulled Kirk out of the parlor car.

"Doc, over here!" West hissed. He ducked under some bushes, and McCoy followed. Once he was settled in, McCoy activated the tricorder.

"Give me a minute to configure this thing;" McCoy muttered.

"Uh, yah, sure;" West said. His jaw was hanging open at the sight of the little machine.

"Shut your mouth before you start catching flies;" McCoy snapped. West closed his mouth. "Okay, all set." McCoy pressed a few buttons, pulled out the small scanner from its compartment, and pointed it in the direction of the ranch.

"You getting anything?" West looked towards the ranch and pulled out a small telescope. "I count eight men, make that nine."

"I'm picking up your nine and six others, along with several horses;" McCoy replied. "No Spock though, I'm not picking up on his bio-signature. If he's down there, he's just out of range."

"That's amazing;" West said, looking at the tricorder. "You got all that from just that little thing?"

"Yep. I'd love to explain it to you but…" McCoy frowned as he pointed the scanner away from the ranch.

"What?" West asked.

"Four riders headed this way;" McCoy whispered. He stuffed the tricorder back into his bag. He and West climbed out of their bush and ran for the horses, which were out in the open for the most part. McCoy pulled his communicator out. "McCoy to Kirk. Jim, you there?"

"Right here, Bones, what's up?" Kirk's voice said ("Good Lord;" Gordon gasped).

"West and I checked out the ranch;" McCoy said quickly. "There's at least fifteen guys out there that aren't farmhands. No sign of Spock, though, or your Loveless character, Artemus."

"Bones, are you all right? You sound like you're running…"

"No, I think we've been discovered;" McCoy answered. "We're headed for the horses now and… oh shit."

"Bones?"

Several men appeared, guns drawn. "Jim, I'll call you back;" McCoy hissed, and stuffed the communicator into the inside pocket of his jacket.

West reached for his gun as he let go of his saddle.

"Freeze right there, Mister!" the man in a black hat yelled. "I ain't afraid to shoot! Though I don't think the Boss would like it much if I killed ya." A second man on horseback trained his shotgun on West; causing the agent to slowly put his hands up.

"I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding;" he said.

"Hey, let go!" McCoy cried as a man grabbed his bag. Jim turned to help him, only to find two more guns pointed at him. "I said let go! I'm a doctor, damn it! Let go!"

Before West could warn him, another man came up behind McCoy and struck him in the back of the head. McCoy grunted and fell to the ground unconscious, though still clinging to his bag.

"No misunderstanding, Mr. West;" the first man said. "I knew I recognized you last night in the bar. Your partner Gordon too. Not sure who this guy or the other feller are, but they don't matter. Dr. Loveless will be quite pleased when we bring you to him."

"You won't get away with this;" West snapped as his hands were tied.

The man shrugged. "Don't really care; I got away last time, didn't I?"

West scowled. "This time, you won't;" he growled. The men pushed him up onto his horse, and draped McCoy over his pinto before setting off to the ranch. Black Hat whistled a short tune. '_Yep, I'm going to get a bonus for this!' _he told himself.

W~W~W~W

Kirk stood up. "Yep, this is the work of a phaser alright."

"Good to know. Is there any possibility that a phaser can fix this too?" Gordon asked, pointing to the rest of the track.

"Sorry, no;" Kirk replied, shaking his head. "Scotty might be able to figure a way to fix the tracks, but just me and a phaser ain't going to fix anything."

"Scotty?"

"My Chief Engineer. You'd like him, he's Scottish."

Gordon rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Kirk's pocket started chirping.

"What is that?" Gordon asked.

Kirk pulled a small object out of the pocket and flipped it open. "My communicator."

"McCoy to Kirk. Jim, are you there?" McCoy's voice drifted out of the little box.

"Right here, Bones, what's up?" Kirk asked as they went off to the side.

Gordon's eyes went wide. "Good Lord!" he gasped. Kirk smiled.

West and I checked out the ranch;" McCoy said. He sounded like he has in a hurry. "There are at least fifteen guys out there that aren't farmhands. No sign of Spock, though, or your Loveless character, Artemus."

"Bones, are you all right?" Kirk asked, frowning. "You sound like you're running…"

"No, I think we've been discovered;" McCoy replied. "We're head for the horses now and… oh shit."

"Bones?" Kirk said.

"Jim, I'll call you back;" McCoy said quietly, and the connection went dead.

"Bones? Bones? Dr. McCoy come in!" Kirk flipped the communicator shut. "He turned it off."

"Where do you think you're going?" Gordon yelled after the Captain as he ran towards the horses.

"To help my friends, what do you think I'm doing?" Kirk shouted.

"You aren't going anywhere, Captain;" Gordon said, grabbing Kirk's arm. "Not without a plan first. Loveless is on to us, and he's not afraid to use Jim or your friends against us. You need to learn to think with your head, kid, not your gun."

Kirk stared at Gordon, and sighed. "You're right. So what do we do?"

"First, we head back to the train to pick up some supplies;" Gordon said with a wink. "Then we go and bust our jail-bird friends and catch us a wanted criminal. You in?"

Kirk grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."


	6. Chapter 6

Spock looked up as several men came in and opened the cell across from his. Two men tossed an unconscious man in, while two more shoved a conscious man in after him.

"See you later, West;" the man with the black hat sneered. The men left. Spock sighed. He was feeling better, though he was sure that Dr. Loveless would try a new drug on him at some point in the near future.

"Psssst!"

Spock looked up. The man identified as 'West' stood by the door of his cell. The guard (it was Ralf again) had left with the other men.

"Are you Spock?" West asked.

"Yes. How did you know?" Spock raised an eyebrow.

West smiled, and pointed to the man on the floor. "The Doctor here told me you looked different from humans."

Spock looked closer at the unconscious man on the floor. Yes, it was Dr. McCoy; so he was in the past as well, which meant… "Where is Captain Kirk?"

"Kirk is with my partner;" West replied. "Loveless' men got a jump on the Doc and me, but Artie and Kirk are still out there. I'm James West, by the way."

"Commander Spock;" Spock replied. "How did you come to know the Captain and Dr. McCoy, Mr. West?"

"We found them trying to steal from our train;" West explained. He was surprised at how high Spock's eyebrows could go. "They told us that they were looking for a friend of theirs, you, and needed a change of clothes. Dr. McCoy here spilled the beans in that you all are from the future. So Artie and I agreed to help them." He laughed. "Not that we had much of a choice, Loveless used your phaser thing to melt the train rails. We had to pull over for a bit."

McCoy gave a low moan, and West turned to help him. "Hey, Doc, easy there. You got hit in the head pretty hard;" West said, easing McCoy into a sitting position.

"I'd say;" McCoy moaned. "I'm going to have a lump there… Spock?"

Spock nodded. "Hello Doctor."

"Spock! You're here! You're all right!" McCoy tried to stand up, but the pounding protest from his head forced him back down. "Where have you been? What happened?"

"I was separated from you and the Captain after we fell into the portal;" Spock replied. "Dr. Loveless apparently found me. He has been trying to force me into giving up secrets of the future, but so far all of his drugs have had no affect on me, or have made me quite ill."

"So you've been here the entire time?"

"I have been held here for the last forty-two hours."

The three looked down the hall as the door opened, and Dr. Loveless came skipping along.

"Dr. McCoy, I would like you to meet Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless;" West said.

Loveless smiled. "Why thank you, Mr. West. It is an honor to meet you, Dr. McCoy."

"Likewise;" McCoy sighed.

"I see you have already met my other guest, Mr. Spock;" Loveless said, not realizing that McCoy and Spock already knew each other. "He has been quite a fascinating person to get to know."

McCoy cringed as Loveless used one of Spock's favorite words. Somehow, it was better when Spock said it.

"Anyways, it is good to see you again, Mr. West;" Loveless continued. "It has been some time since we last met."

West nodded. "It has. What are you up to now, Loveless?"

"Well, I was going over some of my older plans when I met Mr. Spock;" Loveless pulled out a phaser, causing McCoy to give a small gasp. "And everything changed. Now I can go through with some of my more grand schemes, once I get rid of you and Mr. Gordon first, of course."

West smiled. "Of course;" he said. "But you know it will never work, right?"

"Oh, but it will Mr. West!" Loveless cried. "You see, with two of these little gun things, I am even more powerful than before! Nothing in the world can stop me! Nothing!" Loveless pulled out a second phaser; McCoy's.

Spock looked at McCoy with a raised eyebrow. "Two?"

"Shut up, Spock;" McCoy grumbled.

"So you're going to just shoot me, and possibly these two with those little gun things?" West shrugged. "Not very original of you, Doctor."

"Oh no, Mr. West, I have something much more devious in store for you!" Loveless said happily. "Something that will make you wish that I would just shoot you with this little gun. As for your friend, maybe it will be easier to make him talk than Spock."

McCoy snorted a small laugh. "Good luck with that, bub;" he said. "I dare you to try. Jim Kirk won't let you get away with such a thing."

"Is that the name of your other friend? How strange, that he should have the same first name as you, Mr. West;" Loveless turned to the three men behind him. "Bring Mr. West to my lab. My rise to power shall begin with his destruction."

One man kept a gun trained on McCoy as the other two dragged West out of the cell and led him down the hall after Loveless.

"That little man is crazy!" McCoy cried once they had left.

"To put it in simple terms, Doctor, you have no idea;" Spock said. "But the Captain is safe?"

"For now;" McCoy replied. "He and Artemus will probably try and stage a rescue. Hopefully it will come in time."

Spock's eyebrow rose again. "Artemus?"

"Jim West's partner, Artemus Gordon. He's a good man; he'll keep Jim in line."

Spock nodded. "Tell me, Doctor, why did you tell Mr. West and Gordon that you and the Captain are from the future?"

McCoy groaned. "I panicked, Spock, you wouldn't understand since you don't panic. Don't bother giving me a lecture, Jim beat you to it."

Spock's eyebrow went up. "I'm sure."

Upstairs, Jim West was strapped into a chair.

"So what are you going to do to me today, Loveless?" he asked, sounding bored.

"Oh, you shall see, Mr. West;" Loveless said, filling a small needle with a blue liquid. "This is a little something special I cooked up just for you. I tried to use it on Mr. Spock, but it made him very sick instead. I know it will work properly on you, though, since you _are _human."

West grinned. "Born a human, die a human."

"Joke now, Mr. West, because soon you won't have a sense of humor;" Loveless said. "You won't have anything but terror and despair. That is all you will soon know."

West didn't flinch as Loveless stuck him with the needle, and injected the drug into his system.

"It will take affect in a few minutes, Mr. West. Soon, your mind shall be gone, and the world shall be mine."

West felt drowsy as the drug started to kick in. "You won't… get away with it… Loveless…"

"Oh, but James, I already have."

W~W~W~W

"Artemus Gordon, you are my new favorite person!"

Gordon grinned. "Why thank you, Captain;" he said. "What makes you say that?"

Kirk turned around from facing the mirror. "Because I'm hiding enough firepower to take out a small army, and you _can't tell_!"

Gordon had outfitted Kirk with various hidden gadgets, including some explosive in his boot heel (technically the boots were West's, but Kirk found they wore the same size of shoe), a knife under his collar, another knife in his belt. Extra bullets in the belt buckle, along with two smoke bombs, a sleeve gun, and a small holster that held Kirk's phaser inside his jacket. Gordon had several gadgets on his person as well, but then again, he always did.

"Well, I wouldn't say you could take out a small army; but you would get pretty darn close." Gordon picked up a small lock pick and tossed it to Kirk. "Here, you might want this, or do I have to show you how it works?"

"No, I know how to pick a lock, both electronic ones and manual ones;" Kirk said, tucking the pick into a small pocket on the inside of his lapel that Gordon had added for such a purpose. "Frank used to keep a padlock on the front door. I had to pick the lock to get in the house."

"Uh-huh;" Gordon said, and shook his head. "Right then, Captain, you ready?"

"Let's kick some butt;" Kirk replied with an eager grin.

The two entered the stable car. Kirk pulled himself up onto Gordon's mare Mesa, while Gordon mounted the appaloosa from the hotel. "You know, Captain, after only riding for two hours, you look like a natural;" Gordon said as the set off towards the town. The plan was to wait there until nightfall, and then head out to the ranch at dusk.

"Ya, well, I don't feel like a natural;" Kirk replied. He pulled out his communicator. "Maybe Bones managed to keep his."

"Worth a shot;" Gordon said.

Kirk flicked the communicator open. "Kirk to Dr. McCoy; are you there Bones?"

W~W~W~W

McCoy had been locked up for an hour, and so far West hadn't come back. He was slightly worried, but more worried about what Loveless had in store for him. Getting a Vulcan to talk was near impossible; getting a human, namely McCoy, to talk was another thing all together. Sure, McCoy knew how to resist, but he wasn't sure how long he would be able to resist. The Doctor sighed. "Come on, Jim, where are you?"

Suddenly, his pocket gave a familiar chirp. McCoy jumped and realized that Loveless' men had failed to confiscate his communicator after knocking him out. Spock turned to face him as McCoy flipped the little communicator open. "Jim? Is that you?" McCoy hissed.

"Bones, you're all right!"

"Sshh! Keep it down! We don't need the guards hearing a third person down here."

"Four, actually;" Gordon's voice came out of the speaker.

"Bones, is Spock with you?"

"I am right here, Captain."

There was a sigh of relief. "Spock, good to hear your voice. What about West?"

"Loveless took him upstairs about an hour ago;" McCoy replied. "We haven't seen or heard from him since. Jim, we're at the ranch, but I don't know which building we're under. James and I were blindfolded when we were brought here."

"Doc, did Loveless say what he was going to do to Jim?" Gordon asked.

Spock's eyebrow went up, and McCoy knew what he was thinking: a person from the past was catching on to the function of future technology. McCoy ignored him.

"Not really. He said that he would make James West wish Loveless would just shoot him with a phaser. That his rise to power would begin with James' distruction."

There was a pause, followed by Gordon's voice: "Kirk, we have to hurry. Loveless is fully capable of following through with that threat; he almost drove Jim mad once. Jim can and will fight him, but even so, he's only human."

"Jim, Loveless is going to try and make me give up secrets of the future, since Spock here was being so stubborn and wouldn't tell him anything;" McCoy said. "So yes, I agree with Artemus, get your asses over here!"

"Why are you on a first name basis with these two?"

"Jim, that's beside the point!"

Spock's ear twitched. "Doctor, the guard is coming back."

"I heard you, Spock;" Kirk said. "You two sit tight, Gordon and I will be there soon, but we have to wait until dusk. It's too dangerous during the day."

"Jim, hurry;" McCoy whispered. "McCoy and Spock out." He flipped the communicator shut and stuffed it back into his pocket. "So, Spock, how's the food around here?" Spock's eyebrow went up.


	7. Chapter 7

After listening to McCoy's report, Gordon and Kirk both decided they couldn't wait until dusk to mount a rescue; they were going to have to risk it during the day. After scouting out the ranch, they left their horses in a small grove and snuck onto the property. Gordon wore a fake beard, and Kirk had a mustache. Hopefully, they could pass off as hired hands if anyone questioned them. Strangely, though, nobody seemed to be around.

"Loveless must have given his boys the day off;" Gordon said.

"Well, there was a lot of noise coming from the restaurant;" Kirk pointed out. He thought about Lizzie; hopefully Ralf wasn't giving her too much trouble.

The two ran between the buildings, trying to find where their friends were being held. Kirk tried to contact McCoy again, but the Doctor wasn't responding; the guard was probably awake and doing his job.

"My bet would be they're in the house;" Gordon whispered, pointing to the large house. "McCoy said Loveless took Jim upstairs; your friends are probably in the basement."

"Let's use the back door;" Kirk replied, and pointed to what was probably the kitchen door. They raced towards it, and Gordon carefully opened the door. Once he was sure no one was in there waiting, they entered the building.

"Gordon, I found some stairs!" Kirk hissed. "Third time's the charm!"

Gordon closed the pantry door and led the way down the stairs. They would have the element of surprise on the guard if they had the right door, and if McCoy and Spock were down here. Then again, they could be walking into a trap.

Kirk grabbed Gordon before he could open the door. 'Wait' he mouthed, and looked through the crack in the door. He could see a man sitting in a chair with a shotgun across his lap. There were two small barred cells on either side of him. Kirk backed up and pulled out his phaser.

"One, two, three…"

The guard jumped as Kirk kicked the door open, but before he could bring his shotgun up, Kirk shot him with the phaser, knocking him out.

"Good Lord;" Gordon gasped.

"Jim!" McCoy cried, racing to the cell door. "You're early!"

"We decided we couldn't wait;" Kirk said. "Now back up." Kirk shot the lock on McCoy's door, and turned to Spock.

"Mr. Spock, it's good to see you again;" he said, shooting Spock's lock. "So much easier than a lock pick!"

"It is a relief to see you as well, Captain;" Spock replied, and noticed the stunned looking Gordon standing behind Kirk. "I assume you are Artemus Gordon?"

"Uh… ya, that's me;" Gordon said, his mouth hanging open slightly. Kirk smiled.

"No worries, Spock's harmless;" he said, and shot the lock on Spock's cell. "Now Bones, where's West?"

"Loveless took him out of here a few hours ago;" McCoy replied. "Not sure where."

"We need to find him;" Gordon said.

"Captain, our main priority should be trying to retrieve Dr. McCoy and my weapons, communicator, and our tricorders from Dr. Loveless;" Spock said. "Once we find those, we can locate Mr. West."

"Look, you pointy-eared freak!" Gordon snapped. "James West is my partner! We find him first! And if I know Loveless, which I do, we will find your toys and Jim in the same place: Loveless' lab!"

Spock blinked, and McCoy smiled. '_I knew I liked this guy;_' he thought.

"Fine, we find the lab;" Kirk said. "Any idea as to where that is?"

Spock walked over to the unconscious Ralf and placed his hand on his head.

"Spock, he's a guard;" McCoy sighed. "I highly doubt he would know where Loveless' lab…"

"Follow me;" Spock said, letting go of Ralf. "Remember, Doctor, Ralf was one of those who took Mr. West out of here."

"Ralf?" McCoy said.

Gordon looked at Kirk, very confused. "What just happened?"

"Spock found out where the lab is."

"Yes, but how? All he did was put his hand on that guy's head. The guy wasn't even conscious!"

Kirk winked. "Spock is very different from humans. Come on, he knows where he's going."

Sure enough, Spock knew where he was going. The four snuck through the large house, avoiding the guards, and taking them out with Kirk's phaser or Spock's nerve pinch as needed.

"What the hell are you?" Gordon asked Spock after he downed his third guard with a neck pinch.

"A Vulcan;" Spock replied. "Come, the lab is at the end of this hall."

They made there way towards the door, and surrounded it from both sides. Gordon held his hand up as he tried the doorknob, and found it unlocked.

"One, two, Three!"

He opened the door and they flew in… to find Loveless sitting in a large lunch chair reading a book. He looked up.

"I was wondering when you could get here, Mr. Gordon;" he said. "Though I am surprised you managed to get this far without me finding out. What did you do to my men? I heard no gunshots…"

"They aren't dead, Loveless, just asleep;" Gordon he walked towards the little doctor holding his gun out. "They will have to stand trial, just like you."

"Spock, Bones, here's your stuff!" Kirk said, tossing McCoy his tricorder and medi-kit and Spock his communicator and tricorder. "Now then, Loveless, where did you put the phasers?"

"Phaser? Is that what these are called?" Loveless pulled out McCoy and Spock's phasers. "I like that better than 'little gun thing'. I take it you are Jim Kirk?"

"James T. Kirk, at your service;" Kirk replied, giving a little bow. "I've heard some things about you, Dr. Loveless. You've been very bad."

Loveless smiled. "It's a matter of opinion, really."

"Enough with the flattery, Loveless, where's Jim West?" Gordon snapped.

"Honestly, Mr. Gordon, I believe you are in no real position to be making demands;" Loveless sighed, waving his two phasers. "No doubt you have seen this type of weapon in action; you know what it can do. Let's see, what does this little knob do?" He twisted a small knob on the top of the phaser, and the phaser turned red.

"Duck!" Kirk cried, diving behind a desk. The others took cover behind other objects in the room.

"What did Loveless do?" Gordon asked McCoy.

"He figured out how to work a phaser, that's what;" McCoy replied. "Before, he had both of them on the 'stun' setting. Now he's set them to 'kill'."

"Oh. That's not good."

"No, it's not."

"Where' James West, Loveless?" Kirk called out.

"Oh, he's around;" Loveless replied. "If you shoot around enough, you might shoot him too." Loveless fired at Kirk's desk, causing it to desintagrate slightly. Kirk returned fire, as did Gordon, but Loveless had moved to a safer location.

"Give it up, Loveless!" Gordon yelled. "You can't win, you know that! You never do!"

"Come now, Mr. Gordon, you know you are out gunned;" Loveless said. "I have two phasers, while you and Kirk only have one phaser and your pistol. Not only that, but I know where Mr. West is."

"I'll find him! You said he was here some where!"

McCoy pulled out the scanner of his tricorder and pointed it around the room. He smiled. "I found James;" he said. "He's behind the wall over there. His readings are slightly irregular, though."

"We can't get over there without Loveless getting a clear shot of us!" Gordon replied.

"Bones, Gordon and I will cover you!" Kirk said. "You get over there and try and get West out… Wait a second, where's Spock?"

No one had noticed Spock sneak off behind a large machine and make his way quietly towards Loveless, not even Loveless. Spock suddenly jumped out and grabbed Loveless before he could shoot the Vulcan. Loveless fell unconscious as Spock nerve pinched him.

"Spock, nice job!" Kirk said, standing up. "I didn't think you had it in ya!"

"Had what in me, Captain?" Spock tilted his head.

"Never mind. Grab your phaser; Loveless' men are likely to come in here pretty soon."

"Hey, a little help here!"

Kirk helped McCoy and Gordon pull open the hidden door in the wall.

"Jim!"

James West was curled up in a corner of the tiny room. He was pale and unconscious.

"Jim, Jim can you hear me?" Artie cried, shaking his friend. McCoy pushed him away.

"Back off, I'm the doctor;" he said, whipping his scanner out while practically shoving Gordon out of the way.

"Well?" Gordon and Kirk asked. Spock walked over, but kept an eye on the lab's door incase any of Loveless' men came in.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've never seen anything like this;" McCoy said, shaking his hand. "The readings show that the drug in his system is made from the extract from a very rare plant in this time that is extinct in our time. I don't have anything I can give him, and I don't want to give him anything until he wakes up and we know what the affects are."

"We should take him back to the _Wanderer_;" Gordon said. "But first we need to round up the rest of Loveless' men, and find…"

"Hey let me go!"

Gordon, Kirk, and McCoy turned to find Spock holding a struggling Antoinette. "Let me go!" she cried. "Please! Miguelito, help!"

"Loveless is asleep right now;" Spock said. He reached up and nerve pinched her. Antoinette flinched, and went limp in his arms as she passed out.

"Well, that takes care of Antoinette;" Gordon said. "You have to teach me that trick of yours."

"Unfortunately, humans are incapable of learning the Vulcan nerve pinch;" Spock said.

"Oh, too bad. That move could have come in handy."

"Spock, find some rope, and let's tie these two up;" Kirk said. "I think we took out most of Loveless' men earlier, the rest must have run off at this point. Bones, Gordon, get some horses, we need to get West taken care of right away."

"Captain, what are you doing?" Spock asked as Kirk removed the heel of his boot.

"I'm destroying the evidence, Spock;" Kirk replied. "If Loveless is the scientist I think he is, he will have taken notes on the configuration of your phaser, tricorder, and communicator." He grinned, and held up the small wad of explosive putty. "I plan to have a bang with those notes."

"Um, guys, what about the fact that your friend here is well, different?" Gordon pointed at Spock. "After all, he's not human."

"Mr. Gordon, I am half human on my mother's side;" Spock said. Gordon's mouth dropped open. McCoy took his hat and jacket off and tossed them at Spock.

"Put these on. It'll work for now;" McCoy then smiled. "The question now is, Spock can you ride a horse?"

Spock's eyebrow went up.


	8. Chapter 8

As it turned out, Spock couldn't ride a horse, but it wasn't really necessary. McCoy found a small wagon in the barn, which Gordon hitched his horse up to. Kirk and McCoy rode their horses, while Gordon drove the wagon and Spock sat in the back with West, Loveless, and Antoinette. West's horse Blackjack was tied to the back of the wagon.

They met the sheriff half way between the ranch and town. After Gordon explained what had happened, and that they were taking Loveless and Antoinette into federal custody, the sheriff and his men headed to the ranch to round up the rest of Loveless' hired hands.

Once they arrived at the train, Loveless and Antoinette, who were conscious at this point, were put into the holding cell and McCoy and Kirk carried West, who was still unconscious, into the parlor car.

"It's no use, Mr. Gordon!" Loveless cried. "James West is gone! And he's not coming back!"

"You're wrong, Loveless;" Gordon growled, but something told him that the little doctor might be right. That maybe James West was gone. Gordon shook the thoughts out of his head, and led Spock into the parlor car where Kirk and Dr. McCoy were waiting.

"I'm not sure when he'll wake up;" McCoy said. "I gave him a little something to help get Loveless' drug out of his system faster. He'll come out of it soon."

"Good. Once Jim is awake, I can stop worrying about him;" Gordon said. He sat on the couch across from West and looked at his partner. "And we can finally put Loveless behind bars."

"Mr. Gordon, Dr. Loveless will not be behind bars. Not in this time, at least."

Everyone looked at Spock.

"What are you talking about, Spock?" Kirk asked. "Loveless is a madman, a wanted criminal, of course he's going to jail, why wouldn't he?"

"Dr. Loveless had a long period in which he was able to study my phaser, communicator, and tricorder;" Spock explained. "Even though you destroyed his notes, Captain, a man of his intellect would not forget details easily. Should he be allowed to stay in the past, he could use his knowledge to create machines and weapons far more advanced than should be at this time. If Dr. Loveless stays in the past; it could have disastrous effects on the future."

Kirk frowned. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"But what would we do with him in the future?" McCoy said. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to explain to the Admirals why we went down to a planet's surface as part of a basic survey, and we came back with a madman from late 19th century Earth!"

"And, if I may, having Loveless in the future may be just as dangerous as having him in the past;" Gordon added. "Loveless catches on quickly, it won't take him long to understand your technology. Not to mention break out of where ever you put him."

"And then there's that Antoinette girl;" McCoy said. "I don't know how much she knows, but what do we do with her? Oh, and the guards. A few of Loveless' men got several good looks at Spock."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about them;" Gordon said. "Nobody will really believe them. I know I wouldn't."

"Spock, I have an idea;" Kirk said. "It's a lot to ask from you, but do you think you could make Loveless and Antoinette _forget_ about all the future stuff?"

McCoy's eyes widened. "Of course, a mind meld!"

"A what?" Gordon asked.

Spock nodded. "I believe I could make Ms. Antoinette forget; but Loveless might be harder. He has a much stronger mind, and is more likely to resist."

"Can you do it?"

"I believe so, Captain."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Gordon asked.

"Spock is a telepath;" McCoy said. "A mind meld is a joining of two minds. It's a tricky thing, but Spock should be able to do it. He did it earlier."

"You mean… the guard?"

"Yep."

"Mr. Gordon, would you mind bringing Ms. Antoinette in here?" Spock asked. "I will begin with her."

"Sure, give me a minute;" Gordon got up and headed for the holding cell. He came back a few moments later with Antoinette and sat her down on the couch. Spock sat down next to her.

"Hello, Mr. Spock;" she said.

He placed his hands on her head. "My mind, to your mind;" he said. "My thoughts to your thoughts… We are becoming one…"

Kirk, McCoy, and Gordon watched as Spock and Antoinette both entered a trance like state, neither one moved. Finally, Antoinette sighed, and slumped against the couch, unconscious.

"She will remember nothing of us when she wakes up;" Spock said.

"Kirk, help me get her back into the cell before she wakes up;" Gordon said. "We don't need her remembering everything she just forgot."

McCoy looked down at Jim West as Gordon and Kirk carried Antoinette out. McCoy didn't like the fact that he couldn't really do anything for his new friend.

"Let me go! I demand that you let me go, Mr. Kirk!"

"You know, no one has ever really called me that, normally it's Captain, not Mister."

"Kirk, telling him you're a Captain isn't going to help."

"For once, Mr. Gordon, I agree with you."

"Shut up Loveless!"

McCoy smiled as Kirk walked in with a tied up yet still struggling Dr. Loveless. He placed the little man (rather roughly) onto the couch by Spock.

"Get your filthy hands off me, alien!" Loveless screeched.

"Do you think you could make him forget about Jim and me?" Gordon asked.

"I believe that you and Mr. West are so embedded into his subconscious that removing all memories of you would be impossible;" Spock replied. Loveless looked at him with horror.

"Oh, too bad;" Gordon sighed.

"My mind to your mind;" Spock said softly, placing his hands on Loveless. "My thoughts to… your… thoughts…" Spock's face twisted as he struggled to gain entry into Loveless' mind. The little doctor was giving a stronger fight than anticipated.

"Is he all right?" Gordon asked.

"I've seen Spock perform mind melds before;" Kirk said. "Normally there is little resistance, but that's because he has the consent of the person first. I tried fighting a mind meld once… I didn't last very long."

"He's in;" McCoy said, looking at the tricorder's screen. "Their brainwaves have synchronized." They all watched nervously as the minutes ticked by and still Spock did not break the meld. Finally, Spock pulled back, and Loveless fell unconscious.

"Spock, are you okay?" Kirk asked.

"Loveless is a very powerful mind;" Spock said. His breathing was a little heavy. "The strength of his resistance to the meld was something I did not expect."

"Did you erase his memories?" McCoy asked.

"I made him forget the important memories;" Spock replied. "Namely me, the configuration of the phasers, communicator, and tricorder. He will not remember that us three are from the future. He will remember you and Captain Kirk, though. There were only so many memories I could take from him."

"As long as you did what needed to be done, Spock;" Kirk put his hand on the Vulcan's shoulder. "Now we need to make sure Jim West is all right, and then figure out how to get home."

"Doc, can you wake him up now?" Gordon asked as he came back in from locking Loveless back up.

McCoy did a quick scan, and nodded. "The drug is out of his system. Everybody stand back, if this James is anything like that James, you're not going to want to be next to him when he wakes."

"I second that notion;" Gordon confirmed, and Kirk and Spock moved off to the side as McCoy injected West with one of his hypos.

"Jim? Hey Jim, can you hear me?" Gordon whispered as his friend started coming around. "Good morning Jim."

"Ssuuh-whauh?" West muttered, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he leaped over the couch. "No! No! Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Jim, pal, calm down;" Gordon said softly. "It's me, Artie, remember? And Dr. McCoy, Captain Kirk, and Spock over there."

"I know who you are!" West cried. "You're dead! Why won't you leave me alone, Artie? I told you I was sorry! I'm the one who… who… Aaghh!" He cried out in anguish and fell to his knees. "Leave me alone! Please, let me live in peace!"

"Jim, what the hell are you talking about?" Gordon cried. He reached for his friend. West grabbed Gordon's arm and twisted it, causing Gordon to cry out. He pushed Gordon into Spock, and the two fell onto the couch. West darted out the door before Kirk could catch him. The Captain chased him down, and finally tackled West to the ground.

"Get a hold of yourself man!" Kirk yelled at the struggling West. Though West was slightly shorter that Kirk, he was just as strong, if not more so, and was a better fighter.

"Dead, dead, they're all dead!" West sobbed. "I killed them! My gun! Oh God help me! Why? I didn't do it, but I did! Leave me alone, leave me alone! Oh God, oh God, oh God…" McCoy came running up behind Kirk, and injected a hypo into West's neck, knocking him out in a few seconds. The Captain stood up, and with McCoy's help, carried him back to the train.

"What the hell was that?" Gordon cried as they dragged West in, and laid him on the couch.

"Before you blame this on me, let me check him!" McCoy snapped, and scanned West. "Oh…"

"What?"

McCoy sighed. "I missed this earlier because he was unconscious. His brain wave patterns are erratic. The drug… best I can describe it… caused him to go mad."

"No…" Gordon stumbled back. "No… can't you do something?"

"I told you earlier, the drug Loveless gave him is from a plant that is extinct in our time;" McCoy said. "It hasn't existed for two and a half centuries, we don't have an antidote. Not that anything would help at this point; the drug is out of his system. I can't do anything for him he… Artemus wait!"

Gordon rushed out of the parlor car and across the gap to the next car. Antoinette was still asleep, but Loveless was coming around.

"What did you do to him?" Gordon yelled, grabbing Loveless through the bars and hoisting the little man up. "Tell me!"

"Tell you what?" Loveless asked sleepily. "Oh, you mean what I did to Mr. West! Did it work?"

"How do you reverse the effects?" Gordon demanded. "Tell me, you little son of a bitch or I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" Loveless said. "The effects are irreversible once the drug is out of a person's system. His mind is gone, Mr. Gordon, James West is gone. You have no reason to threaten me."

"Gordon put him down!" Kirk cried, pulling Gordon back from the cell. "Get a hold of yourself."

"I'm going to kill him…"

"No you're not;" Kirk said, holding Gordon back, and pulling him towards the door. "Killing Loveless won't help James West. Come on, we'll figure something out."

"Oh yes, Mr. Gordon, you'll figure something out all right!" Loveless cried. "You'll figure out I've won!"

"Shut up!"

Kirk half dragged the stunned Artemus Gordon back into the parlor car. McCoy was pacing wile Spock sat on the couch, still recovering from his meld with Loveless.

"Think of anything, Bones?" Kirk asked, sitting Gordon down.

McCoy shook his head. "Even if we brought him back to the future with us, Jim, I'm not sure that I'd be able to do anything for him;" McCoy sighed. "If we can even figure out how to get back to the future in the first place."

"Our best chance of returning to our time is to find the place we came into this period;" Spock said. "Do you remember where you came through?"

"I think so;" Kirk said. "I was a little out of it, but I remember it was in a cave… that's it."

"We should go back to where we first tried to rob the train, Jim;" McCoy said. "We can figure out where to go from there."

Spock's eyebrow went up. "Rob the train?"

"Long story, Spock, I'll tell it to you later."

"So we go back to try and find that cave, and thus the portal back to the future and Galon VI. That doesn't sound too hard." He looked at Gordon and frowned a little. "What about you, Gordon, what about West? We could take him with us…"

"That could seriously damage the timeline, Captain."

"I was going to say 'then try and get him back here', Spock, let me finish first! Jeeze."

"Jim, we don't even know if we _can _bring him back. And I don't know if we can help him once we are back."

"I'll take the long way around to San Francisco;" Gordon said quietly. "I'll tell Colonel Richmond what happened to Jim… Not sure if he'd believe me if I told him about you three… Is there really nothing you can do?"

"I'm sorry, Artemus, I can't do anything for James. Not here, at least;" McCoy replied, shaking his head.

Gordon looked about ready to cry. '_Loveless finally won. He finally bested James West… Wait a second…_' He looked at Spock. "Is there anything _you _could do?"

Spock looked up to find everyone looking at him, all wondering the same thing: he had made Loveless and Antoinette forget some of their memories, could he pull James West back into reality?

"I have heard of instances where such an attempt was made to bring a mind back;" Spock said. "I myself have not tried anything along those lines. Though there is a possibility, so long as James West's mind is not too far gone, and he does not resist my attempts to bring him back."

"Can you do it?"

"I am not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Gordon cried, jumping up. "You either can or you can't, which is it?"

"Artemus, Spock's abilities as a telepath are limited;" McCoy said. "There is a certain amount of danger to him and James."

"Can he do it, though?" Gordon repeated, and turned back to Spock. "Will you do it?"

Spock looked down for a few minutes. He could feel Gordon's eye bore into the top of his head, along with Kirk's and McCoy's.

"Spock, you don't have to do it;" Kirk said quietly. "I'm not ordering you to. We can try and bring West back to the future and get him help there."

"No, Captain, if we wait too long we will not be able to bring Mr. West back;" Spock said. "I will perform the mind meld, but you must give me some time to prepare first. Erasing Dr. Loveless' memories took more energy that I intended."

Kirk nodded. "Take all the time you need Spock, just not too much;" he looked at Gordon, who seemed to have calmed down a little. "You all right? Can you wait?"

Gordon nodded. "I can wait…" He looked at the sleeping James West. "I'll go tell Orrin to get the train underway and send a message to San Francisco and Washington… Unless any of you know how to work a telegraph."

An hour later, the _Wanderer_ was on its way back to the siding where Kirk and McCoy would have robbed it, had they not taken so long and were caught. But that was still a few hours away. Gordon turned the lights down slightly as Spock prepared for his mind meld with James West.

"If there's any sign of serious trouble, break the connection;" Kirk said. "Having both of you go mad would be worse than just one."

"Understood Captain;" Spock nodded, and looked at Artemus Gordon.

Gordon nodded. "Go a head, Spock. Good luck."

Spock sat next to West and placed his hands on his head. "My mind, to your mind… My thoughts… to your thoughts…"

W~W~W~W

He was alone. Everything he saw, they were just illusions; memories come to haunt him: friends that weren't real, a demon, a brother who was dead, a madman and his laughter that tormented him. His eyes lied to him; all that he saw wasn't real. Only the pain and anguish, sadness and loss, fear and loneliness, only those things were real to him. He felt himself slipping away, until his former self seemed like only a memory, a dream, an illusion, a lie. He was alone. He was nothing, no one; he didn't have a name anymore. His mind and body were together a prison he couldn't escape. He was trapped by the physical confines. He was trapped by the memories, images, feelings, emotions; he was alone to face them all. Alone to face the terrors of this world, and the terrors of his mind. Alone in anguish, in pain, in helplessness. He cried out, though he knew no one could hear him. He was alone…

And suddenly, he wasn't alone. There was another, a presence of some sort. How? What?

"James West."

Was that his name? Yes, it was. How had he forgotten his own name? He cringed in the pain that was caused by recalling his name.

"James West."

"Yes?" he responded. Why was he responding? It was all a trick; no one was really there… yet… "Help me…"

A new wave of pain and anguish washed over him, causing the other presence to falter and grow weaker. Panic welled up inside him.

"No, don't leave me! Please!" he cried, reaching for the presence. It grew stronger, and began to take shape. It was a man in a blue shirt.

"I… I know you;" he said.

"Yes;" the man said. He stepped forward. He was different, his eyebrows and ears were pointed, and his skin was slightly green in color. "James West, you are safe now. Come with me, I can bring you back."

"No!" he cried, and stepped back. "You lie! No one can do that!"

"I can, Mr. West. Vulcans do not lie." The man held his hand out. "Take my hand; it will be all right. Your friends are waiting for you. They are worried about you."

He hesitated. What if it was a lie? What if… no. Something told him that what the man was saying was true. He could trust him. He took the man's hand. Suddenly, the world around them shook; fear and terror seized him. He tried to pull away, tried to flee, but the man wouldn't let go, and pulled him along. Pain, anguish, sadness, terror, it all filled him at once. He couldn't take it anymore. He cried out and…

It was gone. Everything was at peace. He looked at the man.

"Spock, what are you doing in my head?"

A tiny wisp of a smile flashed quickly across Spock's face. "I am bringing you back, Mr. West;" he said. Spock let go of West's hand, and West suddenly felt exhausted. He fell to his knees, unable to stand.

"Rest now, Mr. West. Your mind needs time to recover."

"Please, just call me Jim;" West said.

"I already have a friend named Jim."

"Then call me James… and tell Kirk he can do the same."

Spock nodded. "I will, James. We will be waiting when you wake up."

And with that, Spock was gone. James West closed his eyes, and fell into the welcoming blankness of sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Spock fell backwards as he severed the connection with West.

"Spock!" Kirk caught the Vulcan as Gordon looked his friend over. The mind meld had been difficult, and a few times Spock had nearly been thrown out of it, only to dive right back in. What ever was going on in West's mind was making it hard to find the real James West.

"I… I am all right, Captain;" Spock gasped. "I found him. He is sleeping… needs time for… his mind to recover… He also said… you may call him James, Captain."

"Thanks, Spock;" Kirk said, smiling. "Now you should get some rest as well."

"Thank you, Captain;" Spock sighed, and promptly passed out.

"Will they be all right?" Gordon asked.

"Spock will be fine, that much I can say;" McCoy said. "As for James, Spock said he found him, so I'm assuming he'll be all right once he wakes up. But they're both exhausted. Given time, he'll wake up, but for now, just let him sleep."

Gordon and Kirk carried Spock into Gordon's small stateroom, and then moved West into his own bed. McCoy, after a few false starts, managed to get the little stove working, and cooked up a nice meal for the three of them. Though they didn't feel like eating at that moment, they were all starving, and ended up wolfing down the food. Gordon asked for the recipe, which McCoy gave him. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Kirk spent most of his time staring out the window, McCoy read a book, and Gordon tinkered with a new invention. Finally, much to McCoy and Gordon's amusement, Kirk fell asleep and crashed to the floor.

"He's done that a few times on the Bridge;" McCoy said as he draped a blanket over the softly snoring Captain. "He works himself so hard for his crew and the _Enterprise_. Jim's just a kid, but he has so much responsibility."

"We should probably turn in as well;" Gordon yawned. "We should reach the siding pretty soon and Orrin will pull off there. We can head out in the morning once Jim…"

"He'll be fine, Artemus;" McCoy said. "Don't you worry. Now get some rest, we don't need you falling over too."

"Yes Doctor;" Gordon said. He turned the lights down in the car, and made himself comfortable on the couch.

Artemus Gordon wasn't sure how long he had been asleep when he heard the footsteps. He barely breathed as he listened. Slowly, the door to the hallway leading to the staterooms opened, and a figure appeared, outlined in the growing light of dawn. Gordon slowly sat up, and gasped before crying out; "Jim!"

Dr. McCoy and Captain Kirk both awoke at the sound of someone yelling (Kirk mostly thinking that he was in trouble for something), and then something large falling to the ground.

"Jeeze Artie! Get off'a me!"

"Sorry Jim."

McCoy fumbled with the knob to turn the lights up as Artemus Gordon helped James West up.

"James, you're all right!" Kirk cried. "It worked!"

"What worked? What's going on?" West asked. "Last thing I remember, I was in Loveless' lab, and then…" He shuddered.

"Loveless drugged you, Jim;" Gordon explained. "The drug caused you to go mad. So Spock preformed some mind meld thing to bring your sanity back."

"He did what?" West cried, and his eyes went wide. "Oh my God, I remember that! Spock as in my head! But how?"

"Spock is a Vulcan;" McCoy said. "They're a minor telepathic species."

"Uh…"

"Never mind. Basically, he fixed your head."

West was still confused. "Okay, I guess. Where is Spock? I need to thank him, I believe."

"He's still asleep;" Kirk said. "Performing three mind melds in one day took a lot out of him."

"Artie, would you stop looking at me like that;" West said. "I'm fine, really, hey!"

McCoy had whipped out his tricorder and scanner and was scanning West. "Other than the fact that you could use a good meal and a good night's sleep, I'd say you are fit for duty, Mr. West."

"Thanks Doc."

"I think we still have leftovers from dinner;" Gordon said, headed for the galley. He looked out the window at the growing dawn. "Then again, breakfast sounds more appropriate right now."

"How about your eggs and bacon Artie?" West requested.

"I'll start the stove!"

"Oh wow, an actual sunrise!" McCoy gasped. He and Kirk rushed out the door, followed by West.

"I've forgotten how beautiful a sunrise is;" McCoy muttered. "It's been so long. There are no sunrises in space."

"I know;" Kirk said.

"Welcome to Earth, space cadets;" West said. Kirk and McCoy smiled.

The sun appeared over the horizon, turning the three men, the train, and the entire landscape gold.

Twenty minutes later, breakfast was ready.

"Do you think we should feed out prisoners?" McCoy said.

West shrugged. "Don't see why not." He went into the galley and made up two small plates for Antoinette and Loveless. "I won't let Loveless say I am a bad host;" he said with a wink. West walked down the small hallway, and jumped across onto the other car.

"Rise and shine, I've got… WHAT THE HELL?"

"Uh-oh;" McCoy, Gordon, and Kirk all said at once. They jumped up and rushed into the other car where the holding cells were.

"Oh shit."

"That little son of a bitch!"

"How'd he _do _that?"

Loveless' cell was empty, as was Antoinette's. They were both gone.

"Well, I'm not that surprised;" Gordon sighed. "He does always manage to escape, one way or another."

"Yes, but how did he do it this time?" West asked. "You did search him, right?"

"Oh yes, quite thoroughly;" Gordon replied. "We even checked Antoinette. They were both clean when we put them in here."

"Hey, look at this;" McCoy picked up a small lock pick. "Where'd this come from?"

"That's my lock pick;" Kirk gulped.

Everyone looked at Kirk. "This is yours?" West asked.

"Gordon, remember that lock pick you gave me earlier?" Kirk said. He flipped the lapel of his jacket to show the little pocket where the lock pick was meant to be. It wasn't there. "Loveless must have grabbed it when I was carrying him in for the mind meld. I had thought that it had fallen out earlier, but now… I'm sorry, I should have said something. It's my fault."

"Jim, it's not your fault;" McCoy said, putting his hand on the Captain's shoulder. "You didn't realize this until now. Besides, you've made bigger mistakes before, and those were on purpose."

"Like what?"

"Kirk, don't worry about it;" West said. "Loveless will show up again, he always does. We'll get him next time."

"Jim's right, we'll get him next time;" Gordon said; '_I hope_'. "Now come on, our breakfast is getting cold."

When they returned to the parlor car, Spock was sitting on one of the couches waiting paciently.

"Sorry if we woke you up, Spock;" Kirk said glumly. "I meant for you to sleep in."

"This is when I normally wake up, Captain;" Spock replied, noticing they all were upset about Loveless' escape (he had heard the entire episode in the other car). "So 'sleeping in' was never really an option."

"Well, you're up now!" Gordon said, trying to sound up beat. "Would you like some breakfast, Spock?"

"I am not in need of food at the moment. Though do you have any tea?"

"Sure do. I'll make you a cup;" Gordon headed back into the galley while the others assembled at the table.

"Today we go home;" McCoy said. "In theory, at least."

"How do you plan to do that?" asked West.

"First, we must find the place that we first came through;" Spock said. "Then we must find a way to reverse the process."

"I was kind of out of it at the time, but I remember a cave of some sort;" Kirk said. "Bones and I wandered around for a while before we came across the train, so I don't remember the exact direction."

"There's a group of hills off to the east of here;" West said, pulling out a map. "That's probably the best bet of where your cave is. Artie and I came from the northwest, which is fairly open space."

"Was that the right side, or the left side of the train?" Kirk asked.

Everyone looked at him for the second time that morning. "What do you mean right side or left side?" West asked.

"I mean, if you were looking at the train from the back;" Kirk stood up and demonstrated what he was talking about. "Do you come towards the train from the left, or the right?"

"Oh! The left, I think;" West replied.

"Okay then, Bones and I came in from the right. Now what's that direction?"

"Southeast, I believe;" Gordon answered, coming in with Spock's tea. "Here you go, Mr. Spock. I wasn't sure if you wanted cream or sugar…"

"Thank you, Mr. Gordon, I prefer my tea plain;" Spock said, picking the cup up. The tea had a slightly funny taste to it, but it was still tea.

"Okay, so we start our search in the Southeast direction;" West said. "Once everyone's done with breakfast, we move out."

"Yes sir!" Kirk said, and West gave him a quick 'shut up, Jim' look.

W~W~W~W

It didn't take long for the five of them to finish breakfast and clean the dishes (actually, Kirk cleaned the dishes, much to McCoy's amusement). Kirk and McCoy changed back into their uniforms, unsure of what to do with the clothes West and Gordon had bought them two days earlier.

"Keep them;" West said. "We don't need them; Artie's got an entire wardrobe back there. I have a feeling you'll get more use out of them."

"Not sure _where _or _when _we'll use these, but thanks;" McCoy replied. He had become quite fond of his light blue jacket.

Not to make Spock feel left out, Artie gave him a hat. Kirk ordered his First Officer to wear it; causing McCoy to fall over laughing. And after the Doctor recovered, they set out to find the cave with the time portal.

"I don't remember it taking so long the first time;" McCoy said. "Then again, I was yelling at Jim the entire time, so I probably didn't notice much."

"Shut up Bones!" Kirk snapped.

Gordon laughed. "You know, I think those were the first words I heard you say when we met!"

"Maybe, he's been telling me to do that a lot lately."

"You told them we are from the future!"

"And aren't you glad I did?"

Kirk smiled. "Yes Bones, I am. Hey, wait a second, I know that rock!"

"It looks like every other rock out here, Captain;" Gordon muttered.

"No, seriously, I remember this rock!" Kirk said, bending over sideways. "I remember it because it looks like an ice cream cone that fell over!"

"An ice cream what?" Gordon asked.

"Oh, now I remember! You were thinking with your stomach!" McCoy cried. "We're on the right track boys! Let's keep moving."

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Kirk cried, and ran a head like a ten year old boy.

"He's your commanding officer?" West jokingly asked Spock.

Spock nodded. "Yes, but Captain Kirk is a good man. I wouldn't want to serve under any other in Starfleet."

West paused. "Starfleet?"

"Yo James, hurry up!" McCoy called, waving from the top of a rock.

Laughing, West shook his head and hurried after the others followed by Spock. "Do you have any idea where you're going?" West shouted.

"Nope!" Kirk yelled. "But I do know we're headed in the right direction!"

Spock pulled out his tricorder. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kirk and his sense of direction (though he did question it after the 'right side left side' back at the train), he wanted to make sure. An anomaly in space-time would show up on his tricorder, and one large enough to transport them would give a strong signal.

"Captain, I am picking up a reading from 200 meters in that direction;" Spock pointed to a group of rocks off to his right. "I believe it is the anomaly that brought us here."

"Let's check it out then!" Kirk said, and led the way to the rocks.

"I think you're right, Spock;" McCoy said. "I seem to remember this place… Hey! I found a cave!"

West pulled out a match and lit the lantern he had brought. The cave's entrance was only six feet tall, and four feet wide, but it clearly opened up inside.

"This is the place;" Spock said. "There is a strong reading ten meters back in that cave."

"Well then, gentlemen, time to go home;" Kirk said.

"I've got to see this;" Gordon said, following Kirk, McCoy and Spock in.

"Same;" West added.

The cave itself was nothing special, but all five of the men felt the strangest sensation that something strange was there, something mysterious, and powerful.

"I thought you said it was in here, Mr. Spock;" Kirk said, looking around.

"It is, Captain, it should be right… there!" Spock pointed at a blank stone wall. McCoy, who was the closest, walked over and knocked on the wall.

"It's solid, Spock. No time portal here."

"The readings do not lie, Dr. McCoy. The time portal is located where you are standing."

"Maybe you guys have to activate it some how;" West said.

"Ya, maybe there's a magic word or something;" Gordon added. "Like, uh, Open Sesame!"

Nothing happened.

"Abracadabra."

Nothing.

"Hocus Pocus?"

Still nothing.

"Please?"

"Artie, just stop;" West whispered.

"Sorry;" Gordon muttered. Kirk walked over to the wall, and Spock's tricorder suddenly started beeping.

"Now what Spock?" Kirk asked.

"The reading has gotten stronger, Captain;" Spock said. "As if, it was reacting to your moving towards it…" Spock walked forward, and again the reading spiked. "Gentlemen, I believe the portal will only activate when we enter it at the same time."

"So it needs all three of us to work?" McCoy asked.

"Precisely Doctor."

Kirk turned to West and Gordon. "I guess this is good-bye then."

West nodded. "Sure seems that way, Captain."

"We ever going to see you three again?" asked Gordon.

McCoy shrugged. "Who knows, we have a tendency to run into some pretty crazy stuff out there. It wouldn't surprise me in the least bit if some how we did meet again."

"Though the likelihood of such an event occurring is…" Spock never finished his statistic.

"Shut up Spock;" McCoy snapped.

Bones, give me your pin;" Kirk said.

McCoy blinked. "My pin? What for?"

"Just give it to me;" Kirk reached down and undid his own pin from his shirt. McCoy handed him his. Kirk looked at West and Gordon. "Gentlemen, for all that you have done for us in the last few days, I would like to express my gratitude."

West and Gordon snapped into attention out of habit. "Thus, I give you these;" Kirk replied, giving West his pin, and Gordon McCoy's. "Mr. West, Mr. Gordon, I name you honorary members of my crew of the United Starship _Enterprise_." Kirk gave a salute. "Welcome aboard, gentlemen."

"Thank you sir;" West returned the salute, as did Gordon. McCoy added his own.

"Captain, I do not believe you have the power to perform such an act;" Spock said.

"Quiet Spock;" Kirk hissed, and dropped his hand. "Now that that's done, I think it's time we went home."

"Good luck and Godspeed;" West and Gordon said, waving. Kirk and McCoy waved back, and Spock gave a small wave. The three turned to the rock wall, stepped forward, and disappeared.

"You know, Jim, I think I'm going to miss them;" Gordon said.

West nodded. "Me too, Artie, me too. They're going to be hard to forget." He patted Gordon on the back. "Come on, pal, let's see what the future has in store for us."


	10. Chapter 10

_Two Months Later (In the Future)_

The doorbell sounded in Kirk's quarters.

"Enter!" Kirk called. He looked up from his work as the door opened. "Hey, Bones, what's up?"

McCoy walked in. He had a small smile on his face that told Kirk he was proud of something, and held his hands behind his back.

"Jim, you remember what I told you about Artemus? That he wrote a book about his adventures in the American West with James West?" McCoy asked.

"I think so, why?"

McCoy smiled, and pulled out an old book from behind his back. "Well, I sent a message to my dad after we got back. After searching the attic, he found the book. I've been reading it; and now I remember why it was one of my favorite books when I as a kid!"

Kirk took the book, and read the cover. "_In Service of the West: The Memoirs of Secret Service Agent Artemus Gordon_. Wow, Bones, this is cool. Mind if I borrow it?"

"Sure Jim, go a head. Just don't damage it;" McCoy said. "And let me show you something." The Doctor took the book and flipped to one of the first pages. "Read this."

Kirk read the dedications. "To James T. West: partner, friend, and brother. To all those of the Secret Service, namely J.P, F.H, Col. R, and President Grant."

"I did some research on those initials;" McCoy said. "From what I can find, J.P is Jeremy Pike, F.H is Frank Harper, and Col. R. is Colonel Richmond. We both know who President Grant was. I also found it surprising that James had the same first two initials as you."

Kirk nodded and moved on to the next and final dedication. He nearly dropped the book in surprise of who it was dedicated to:

"_To Capt. J.T.K, Dr. L.M, and Comm. S.: I know you will read this someday. Just know you three gave Jim and I one of our wildest adventures, which I will never forget. Sorry I couldn't put it in this book; it's against the First Directive. Good luck with what the future brings you._

"Bones, that's … that's _us_!" Kirk cried. "Artemus dedicated his book to us!"

"I know, isn't it cool?" McCoy said. "But like he said, our adventure isn't in there, and he never gave our names, just those letters. I told you we could trust them."

Kirk started to laugh. "You're right, Bones, you are right. They were the only two people in the Wild, Wild West we could trust." He patted McCoy on the back. "Now come on, my shift starts in five minutes. I think I'll surprise Spock and show up early."

The two exited Kirk's room and Kirk walked right into another crewmember, knocking her to the ground.

"Oh jeeze, I'm sorry about that!" Kirk said, helping her up.

"No, no Captain, it was my fault;" she stammered, clearly embarrassed that she had just ran into her commanding officer.

"No, Lieutenant, it was mine;" Kirk said, looking at the braids on her sleeve for her rank. "By the way, I haven't seen you around here before…"

"I was just transferred to the _Enterprise_, sir;" the Lieutenant replied. "I came from the _Farragut_."

Kirk crossed his arms. "And are you going to tell me your name, Lieutenant. Not that I'm going to put this on your record, if you're afraid of that…"

She snapped into attention. "No sir, sorry, sir. My name is West; Lt. Artemis West… Sir, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost…"

Dr. McCoy nearly fell over in surprise, and Kirk went slightly pale. "What? Uh… no, Lt. West, I'm fine;" Kirk said. "Nice to meet you, see you around." He grabbed McCoy's arm and dragged him past the very confused Lt. West and into the turbo-lift; where they burst out laughing.

"Bones, you don't think she's…" Kirk couldn't finish his sentence.

"Maybe, Jim, maybe;" McCoy replied. "I wouldn't be surprised. After all, it has been 400 years…"

FIN

* * *

Hope you enjoyed my story! I am thinking of writing a sequel, and ideas are already forming.

Thank you for the reviews, they are appreciated! I should have put that in the beginning, but I forgot. Oops.


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